KUALA LUMPUR - Following the Movement Control Order (MCO) in all states and the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) in Sarawak, which ends on February 4, 2021, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) has postponed the kick-off of the M-League from 26 February to 5 March, 2021.
The decision to postpone the kick-off was made after a special MFL board meeting today.
The kick-off of the M-League will see Super League champions, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), take on runners-up, Kedah Darul Aman FC, in in the Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (Charity Shield) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor.
The MFL chief executive officer, Dato’ Ab. Ghani Hassan, said that since the MCO will end in early February, it wouldn’t be fair to the teams involved to have only three weeks to prepare.
“We sat and discussed this matter today, and after taking account of the views of the respective team’s representatives, we decided to push the kick-off date to March 5, 2021.
“I think this will give the teams more time to prepare for the new season. They will have 1 month for preparations,” Ghani said when contacted by The Vibes.
Ghani also added that the MFL Board members’ decision was also based on the qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup, the Asian Champions League (ACL) tournament and the AFC Cup competition.
JDT will take part in the Champions League, while Kedah Darul Aman FC and Terengganu FC will participate in the AFC Cup competition.
During the same meeting, the MFL Board members decided to scrap the FA Cup from the M-League calendar for the 2021 season due to the tight schedule.
"Although the decision (to cancel the FA Cup this season) was a difficult one, we had to make it to ensure that the teams are not burdened with the tight schedule, which would impact the quality of the M-League,” said Ghani.
Meanwhile, Sarawak United FC technical director, B. Sathianathan, welcomed the decision by MFL, adding that this is a good move by the board members as the teams would not be rushed into training and preparations.
“Players need at least 4 to 5 weeks to prepare. Although individual training has started with some clubs, the group training is the most important; players need to train together and get used to each other before the start of the season.
“This decision has also given hope to the industry that football will resume once again,” was a timely announcement by MFL as many have been left in the dark regarding the situation surrounding the football industry in light of the ongoing pandemic.
However, Ghani added that MFL will provide stricter and more effective Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for training sessions to ensure that the season runs smoothly without any untoward incidents.
"The COVID-19 pandemic situation is alarming and MFL wants to be prepared for it when the season starts.
“MFL will collaborate with the National Sports Council (NSC) on the training SOPs, which will be presented to the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) to ensure that the M-League runs free of any Covid-19 cases, "he said. ─ The Vibes, 27 January, 2021
