KUALA LUMPUR – National sporting bodies have been forced to adjust their sporting calendar for events in the next few months due to the upcoming 15th general election (GE15) and monsoon season.
The Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) has decided to postpone their upcoming 2022 Agong’s Cup which was initially scheduled to be held from October 22 to November 26.
MRU vice president Fahmy Jalil said the decision was made after taking into consideration the upcoming GE15 after Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament on October 10.
“We will decide on the new dates for the Agong’s Cup after the Election Commission finalises the nomination and polling dates,” he told the media when met at Wisma OCM.
Fahmy said while the Agong’s Cup will still go on, they will take into account the monsoon season as the weather predictions for the year-end do not look good.
A total of 16 teams will be participating in the tournament, with Terengganu winning the last edition in 2019.
He also said MRU is ready to finish in the top six of the 2022 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, which will enable them to compete in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games from September 23 to October 8.
Malaysia finished seventh in both the men’s and women’s categories at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series last year.
Despite the 2022/2023 monsoon season expected to start in November and carry on until March, GE15 will have to weather the storm and needs to be held within 60 days of Parliament’s dissolution.
Taking this into account, Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer Stuart Ramalingam said the possibility of rescheduling their upcoming Malaysia Cup matches depends on the Election Commission (EC)’s announcement.
“With the knockout stage format this year, every match is important as we expect it to bring in large crowds at stadiums. Safety is a concern during this period.
“With the dissolution of Parliament, security personnel would be prioritised for other GE15-related duties,” he said today after the First Instance Body’s (FIB) meeting.
FIB, an independent decision-making body appointed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), also rejected the national club licence for Sarawak United FC and Melaka United FC, leaving them out of the 2023 Super League season. – The Vibes, October 13, 2022
