FAM not planning to withdraw from bidding to host 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said that despite a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections in the country, he was confident that the Omicron variant wave was under control and (the number of cases) could be reduced, as stated by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

He said FAM also did not make any changes to the standard operating procedures (SOP) in their application to the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) for the hosting of the tournament.

"Yes, (cases are) rising but this time it is different because many have been vaccinated. So, we just follow the SOP set by the MOH and MKN (National Security Council) and we are still going to bid (for the tournament) as our secretariat has already submitted the application.

"We hope that after Feb 24, that is after the draw for the tournament, we will get an answer. The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) are the ones who will decide whether we get (the host job) or not," he said.

He said this at a media conference after the official launching of the Airbus A330-300 Harimau Malaya livery at the Malaysia Airlines Berhad Engineering Complex here today.

Hamidin said he was told that most of the countries competing in the third round qualifiers had also bid to host the tournament.

As such, he hoped that the national team, under the guidance of new head coach Kim Pan Gon would be ready to do their best even if they have to play elsewhere.

"Thus far, we have adhered to the criteria but we have to compete with other countries, with some not requiring (COVID-19) quarantine at all and some where we will straight away be confined to a sports bubble," he said.

FAM are bidding to host the tournament to ensure the national team would enjoy homeground advantage in their mission to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup Finals.

The Harimau Malaya are aiming to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup Finals, having last appeared in the Finals of the 2007 edition as co-hosts.

It has been over 40 years since Malaysia last qualified automatically for the Asian Cup during the 1980 edition in Kuwait.

In a separate development, Hamidin said FAM are expected to decide whether to continue or to cancel their naturalisation programme, which has been shelved for the time being, after receiving feedback from the Naturalisation Committee and Technical Committee.

He, however, said that so far FAM had no objection to any local clubs wanting to naturalise their players.