PUTRAJAYA − The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) said it is committed to help the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) bid to host the third round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, which is scheduled to take place in June.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, said KBS would work closely with FAM to ensure its success.
“I give my commitment on the close cooperation of KBS to ensure we will get the desired results,” he said at a news conference yesterday in conjunction with the ground-breaking ceremony for the new FAM headquarters in Precinct 5.
Earlier, the local media reported that the bid to host was one of the main goals of FAM to ensure that the national team has the advantage of playing on its own ground in the mission to qualify for the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup.
National squad manager Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi, who is also FAM deputy president, was reported as saying that support from the government was important for the tournament to be organised without any problems.
Meanwhile, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the constraint that needed to be addressed in bidding for the host job was the seven-day quarantine currently set by the government.
He said his team together with KBS would work with the Health Ministry and the National Security Council on the matter.
“The quarantine is our only issue. We must remember that other countries are also bidding to host the tournament,” he said.
The Harimau Malaya squad are currently on a mission to qualify for the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup, which they last played in as co-hosts for the 2007 edition.
However, for more than 40 years, Malaysia has failed to win an automatic Asian Cup slot since the 1980 edition in Kuwait. – Bernama, January 18, 2022
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