KUALA LUMPUR - The focus of local football fans will shift back to the Malaysia League (M-League) when the competition resumes next month after the completion of the World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 second round qualifying tournament.
Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan, in a statement today, said the Premier League would kick off on July 3 and the Super League on July 24.
Ab Ghani said several changes had been made to the schedule as Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will be playing in the Asian Champions League (ACL) and Kedah Darul Aman (DA) FC and Terengganu FC (TFC) in the AFC Cup, which would require them to undergo a 14-day quarantine on their return to the country.
He said two Premier League matches postponed earlier would be played at the end of the month, with Selangor FC 2 taking on Sarawak United FC on June 29 and Perak II FC playing Kelantan FC on June 30.
The national team would also have to undergo a 14-day quarantine on their return from the ongoing World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers in Dubai, and this has also affected the M-League schedule, he added.
Ab Ghani said the schedule might also need to be changed if AFC decide to reschedule the AFC Cup 2021.
“According to an AFC statement dated May 27, 2021, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has withdrawn as host of the AFC Cup 2021 following a rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, and MFL has been informed that AFC will announce a new venue,” he said.
He said M-League matches could not be moved beyond November because the contracts of many players and officials are valid only until the end of November.
As such, MFL through the Football Association of Malaysia has officially notified AFC that any change to the hosting of the tournament should be made within the original schedule so as not to disrupt plans for the domestic league. - Bernama. June 11, 2021
