The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) will submit an official request to the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) regarding the permission to allow supporters to attend Malaysian League (M-League) football matches in the near future.

Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the application involves phases five and six of the gradual reopening of the sports and recreation sector.

Stage five would see the attendance of spectators to the stadium on a small scale and stage six involved the presence of supporters on a larger scale, as well as the participation of foreign athletes in local tournaments.

“I had previously said that there should be three or four exit and entry points for football (at stadiums), maybe we can provide a Standard Operating Procedure, however, currently there is no place in the world where spectators are allowed to attend football matches.

“So, I think we can begin it gradually and in stages. We do not want to open it up too quickly, there could be a sharp increase in transmissions (COVID-19 cases), and we would end up with a sports cluster that erodes not only the confidence of the people, but also the government, in terms of granting us the permission (to operate again),” he told reporters after attending a dialogue session at Wisma OCM here.

The session was held with national sports associations in conjunction with the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s 193rd Executive Council Meeting.

The government had previously announced the third phase of the reopening of the sports and recreation sector which came into effect on July 15, where sports and recreation activities with physical contact, as well as the organising of local tournaments and competitions for non-contact sports without spectators have been allowed.

The fourth phase starting Aug 15 will allow the organising of local tournaments and competitions for contact sports without spectators, including the M-League competition.

In another development, Reezal Merican informed that a task force would soon be set up to review the effectiveness of the Podium Programme which began in 2015, with the aim of securing Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Olympics.

He said the special task force would be led by former National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz.

Asked about the ‘Road to Tokyo (RTT) 2020 Programme, Reezal Merican said it would go on as usual under the supervision of the National Sports Council and NSI.

-- BERNAMA