PETALING JAYA: The first day of the national football team’s centralised training camp ahead of two Tier 1 international matches against Cambodia and Maldives “was less lively” when only 17 players reported at the Wisma FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) in Kelana Jaya, here, today.
Eleven other players will only join the squad under head coach Kim Pan Gon (pix) in stages with seven Selangor FC players and two Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) players reporting next Monday.
Besides that, Terengganu FC goalkeeper Muhammad Rahadiazli Rahalim will join the team after completing the national Under-23 squad’s centralised training camp on Dec 6, and FK Jablonec defender Dion Cools is scheduled to report on Dec 16.
Pan Gon when met at the training session today also confirmed that two Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC players, namely Muhammad Akram Mahinan and Declan Lambert, will not be joining the team as they have requested leave due to personal matters.
The South Korean gaffer said he and the rest of the coaching staff need to accept and adapt to the situation they are facing currently.
“I am happy in Malaysia and I need to adapt and accept all the situations. I don’t want to complain because this is in the FIFA rules, so it can happen. We will do our best and give the best service to those who join us and try to make the team good,” he told reporters here.
Based on the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; Appendix 1: Release of Players to National Team Article 6 states that it is not compulsory to release players outside an international window or outside the final competitions included in the international match calendar.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman in a statement confirmed receiving a letter from KL City informing that two players from the KL City team would not be able to join the National training squad.
Malaysia will face Cambodia at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Dec 9 and play Maldives at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on Dec 14, before heading for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) competition scheduled from Dec 20 to Jan 16.-Bernama