Tengku Abdullah concerned with national team's poor performance

The National football team's dismal performance has become a major concern for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Despite a number of defeats in international friendly matches Tengku Abdullah said he had high hopes of the National team under head coach Dollah Salleh to do well in the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup that kicks off in Singapore on Nov 23.

"I am concerned with the performance of the National team (Harimau Malaya) and hope they can bounce back in the AFF Suzuki Cup competition. Only the players and coach can determine the success of the team.

"Malaysians throughout the country must offer their support for the National team. I want them to pull up their socks and start winning," he told reporters after receiving a sponsorship pledge from Bank Islam Berhad (Bank Islam), at a leading hotel in the city, yesterday.

The National squad had suffered four defeats in the run up to the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.

The National squad suffered a 1-4 defeat against Tajikistan at the Central Dushanbe Stadium in Tajikistan on Aug 8, followed by a 0-2 defeat to Indonesia at the Gelora Delta Sidoarjo Stadium in Surabaya, Indonesia on Sept 14.

Last Wednesday, Dollah's boys suffered a 0-3 defeat against the Syrian Under-23 squad at the Shah Alam Stadium and yesterday lost 1-3 to Vietnam at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The only win was against lowly Cambodia (4-1) at the Shah Alam on Sept 20.

Meanwhile, Bank Islam pledged its support for the development of football in the country through a RM2.35 million contribution which was handed over by its Managing Director Datuk Zukri Samat.

The contribution was a part of the 'Bank Islam Team Harimau i-Debit Visa Card' promotion that was launched in May 2013, to football fans in the country.

He said as of October 2014, about 800,000 cards have been issued to Bank Islam account holders.