PETALING JAYA: Kim Pan-gon has announced his departure from Harimau Malaya.
The South Korean announced his resignation in a special press conference held at the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) headquarters in Kelana Jaya on Tuesday (July 16).
"I have a sad message to share with everyone, today, I have decided to step down as the head coach of the Malaysian football team due to personal commitments," he said.
"I joined in June 2022 and have experienced beautiful moments with the Malaysian fans. I want to thank them for being part of this journey."
The 55-year-old was hired in 2022 to improve the fortunes of Malaysian football and did just that from 2022 to 2023, when he led the team to 17 wins, two draws and eight defeats and at one point, Malaysia were ranked 130th in the world.
This year, Malaysia did not have the best of starts in the Asian Cup when they lost to Jordan 0-4 and Bahrain 0-1 but etched a historical result by holding Asian giants South Korea 3-3 in the group stages.
In the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifiers, Malaysia lost to Oman 0-2 twice in Muscat and Kuala Lumpur, and then held by Kyrgyzstan 1-1 in Bishkek.
They eventually got their first win of the year by beating Taiwan 3-1 in the final group match but it was not enough for Malaysia to get to the third round as they finished third in the group with 10 points. Malaysia are now ranked 135.
After the game against Taiwan, Pan-gon said he wants to stay on and help Malaysia get to the Asian Cup in 2027 but said the final decision on his future rests in the hands of the leaders in FAM, particularly president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
