KUALA LUMPUR − Former Mokhtar Dahari Academy director Lim Teong Kim has defended the national junior squad’s poor showing in the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under 23 (U-23) Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Teong Kim, who is also the former National Football Development Programme (NFDP) technical director, claimed that the reason behind the team’s failure lay in the unsystematic youth football development in the country.
“The development of a player must go through a systematic process, and this is non-existent in Malaysia. The current situation does not allow junior players to progress so we can’t blame them.
“I have said many times that if the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Malaysian Football League (MFL) do not carry out their responsibilities to hold youth leagues, don’t hope that Malaysian football will grow,” he posted on Instagram yesterday.
According to Teong Kim, FAM and MFL are entities that should prepare and complete all platforms for the development of football in the country.
He also said that the changes that need to be made include creating more leagues at the youth level and limiting each Super League and Premier League team to only three import players.
Teong Kim added that permission for feeder teams to field import players in Premier League competitions should be withdrawn.
Malaysia crashed out of the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship in the group stage after two consecutive defeats to Laos following the withdrawal of fellow group members Myanmar and Indonesia from the competition due to Covid-19 infections among their players.
Malaysia lost to Laos 1-2 in their opening match on February 18 and 0-2 in their last match on Monday. Laos emerged as Group B champions and qualified for the semi-finals. – Bernama, February 23, 2022
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