KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), through the new national team committee, will ensure there will be no players movement midway through tournaments.
Interim coach Pau Marti Vicente had to deal with the unusual situation of seeing his boys having to fulfil club commitments during the AFF Cup and it had received flak.
FAM deputy president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi (pic) said he was aware of the situation and agreed it did not paint a pretty picture of Malaysian football.
“For future assignments, we will come to a better understanding to ensure that players do not leave the national team during the international calendar,” said Yusoff, after attending the launch of FAM and Konami, a prominent gaming company in Japan, partnership at the Sofitel Hotel in Damansara here yesterday.
“I am sure the new committee would look into this issue, because it does not look nice.”
The new committee will be overseen by Johor Regent and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) owner Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, and FAM recently announced Australian Peter Cklamovski as the new Harimau Malaya coach.
The timing of the announcement did not go well with Vicente and staff as they were still leading the national team in the AFF Cup, but Yusoff said they were fine with it.
“We had planned this months ago. An understanding was already reached. The current setup understand that the AFF Cup is the last assignment, so there are no issues by announcing the new coach.
“Pau will be there until the end of the tournament. The new setup will prepare for the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
“After Jan 1, it will be a brand new team leading the national squad. Even if Pau does well in the AFF Cup, he will move on. Peter and the committee will come up with the new structure for Harimau Malaya.
“We want to ensure that this plan is done well for a better future for Malaysian football.”
Yusoff added that Cklamovski’s appointment was not a step backwards, but one he believes will elevate Malaysian football to another level.
“We believe we won’t regress, it will only get better.
“Some are disputing Peter’s selection but I believe the committee had seen his credibility, so we have to give him the chance to lead the team.”
