PETALING JAYA: Worry not, the kickoff dates will be announced real soon.
That was the assurance given by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer Datuk Stuart Ramalingam (pic) after Pahang coach Fandi Ahmad had made a fuss on the lack of information. Fandi wanted to know the dates early so that he can make early plans for his team next season.
The new season is expected to start in April, but no specific dates were given.
Stuart allayed those fears by saying that the teams would know the details in the next four to five days on the kickoff and transfer window period as this year’s season had just ended on Dec 17.
“We can assure that the dates will be released in the next four to five days. There is no delay. They will know when is the opening day of the next year’s league and also the transfer window periods,” said Stuart. “I had a meeting with CEOs of the respective clubs a few months ago and they are aware that the league will start in April. We told them that we will be giving the opening day date a few days after the final matchday of the 2023 season.
“It will be known publicly soon.”
Stuart said they took the same approach last year when they released the new dates on Dec 1 after the domestic season ended with the Malaysia Cup final on Nov 26.
Many teams have lamented that starting the league in April would be tough on them financially as they would have a longer pre-season and that means they have to pay players salary for periods of inactivity as the season starts later.
But Stuart said the leaders of the club understood the need for change. He said MFL would make changes in their competition schedule so that it will be aligned with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) calendar and ensure that the M-League transfer window would be in line with international leagues.
“I met everyone individually, the CEOs and club representatives, and they understood the need for change. We needed to take the quickest period of transition to ensure we were good for the next season. It will help in the long run.
Meanwhile, Kelantan’s fate in the Super League would be known by end of this week while MFL’s First Instance Body (FIB) are also looking into Kelantan United for having not paid wages to their players.
“We will be having a meeting later this week to discuss on these two teams and then make a decision,” said Stuart.
