Senior citizens, children not encouraged to attend M-League matches - KBS

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) and Malaysia Football League (MFL), the M-League organisers, are currently fine-tuning the mechanism and standard operating procedures (SOPs) on stadium attendance.

He said the ministry had never stopped COVID-19 high-risk groups from attending matches, and there is also no law to stop them from doing so.

"So, a lot of things will be looked into carefully, among them the sale of tickets which must be done online, about how food trucks should operate and the question of children attending matches.

"Children and those aged above 60 are not encouraged (to attend) as they belong to the vulnerable group," he said at a media conference after handing over appointment letters for the ministry's 'Panel of Experts' committee here today.

The Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor and the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras will be the first two venues to have fans again on April 2 and 3 respectively once the international break is over.

Both stadiums will be used as a pilot project to gauge the effectiveness of crowd management protocols.

Reezal Merican hoped the fans will follow all SOPs to convince the National Security Council and the Health Ministry that the protocols put in place are effective.

"POC (proof of consent) is important. I can't be the only one trying to convince the government, so I ask for the support of all sports fans so that KBS' efforts to bring back the fans to the stadiums can be achieved.

"If the fans fail to convince, it (fans back to the stadium) may not happen then," he said.

Earlier, Reezal Merican handed over letters of appointment to 25 members of the 'Panel of Experts' Committee with former Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Tan Sri Borhan Dolah appointed as the chairman.

Meanwhile, KBS in a statement today outlined several conditions in the general protocol on the general management of spectators under the standard operating procedure (SOP) in the sports and recreation sector.

Among them, spectators need to comply with the Movement Control Order (MCO) directives in effect, online ticket sales but the registration and collection of season passes are allowed at the venue in a scheduled, controlled manner while observing physical distancing.

Apart from that, the existing sales operation of the permitted championship is subject to the SOP while temporary sales stalls in the venue are not allowed.

The conditions outlined are for the movement of supporters into the venue in an orderly manner according to scheduled time and physical distancing among fans; the authorities and organisers reserve the right to reject any individuals who defied the SOP.