KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Football League has confirmed that M-League clubs located in states are under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) will play their matches on neutral grounds.
MFL CEO Dato’ Ab Ghani Hassan told The Vibes that under EMCO, no football matches are allowed to take place, so the affected clubs are required to play their matches in other venues.
“Currently, eight teams cannot play in their respective venues due to the EMCO and we do not know when the EMCO will end.
The clubs affected due to the EMCO are the Kuala Lumpur City FC and PDRM FC (Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras), Selangor FC 2 (Selayang Municipal Council Stadium), Selangor FC and PJ City FC (Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium), UiTM FC and FAM-MSN Project Squad (UiTM Stadium, Shah Alam) and Negeri Sembilan FC (Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi)
“MFL has requested the clubs that are affected to prepare and have a plan to locate stadiums that are not used outside the EMCO area. MFL will assist by identifying the stadiums as there are some stadiums that are not in use now, such as the Manjung Stadium and the Batu Kawan Stadium.
“During these unprecedented times, I request that all clubs adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and work together in ensuring the continuity of the M-League.
The M-League will resume on July 24 and July 25 with some adjustments done on the schedule for matches involving Perak FC II vs Kelantan FC at the Perak Stadium and for Selangor FC 2 vs Sarawak United FC.
“These clubs will play on July 17, but we are yet to determine the venue. The matches were supposed to be played on July 3 but since it was the start of the Movement Control Order (MCO 3.0), the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC) advised us to postpone it to a later date.
The M-League was put on pause in May due to the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and for Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) Asian Champions League (ACL) outing in Bangkok, Thailand
At the same time, Ghani said that despite the MCO, the Youth and Sports Ministry, NSC and the Health Ministry has allowed MFL to continue the M-League with strict SOPs.
“We are glad that the authorities have given us the green light to play on.
“However, the changes in schedule cannot be avoided to minimize venue clashes and to avoid teams going through a tight schedule.
“We are all aware that KBS has previously suggested that the Premier League schedule be postponed due to daily cases which are still at a high with more than 4,000 cases a day.
“If there are any changes and amendments to the calendar, it will be subjected to the decisions of the MFL Board of Directors and under the instructions of the Government,’’ he said. – The Vibes, July 8, 202
