ONLY SIX REPORT FOR DUTY

FAM allow the rest to come as they please

THERE were more reporters present for the national youth team’s press conference than players who reported for the first day of centralised training yesterday.

Only six of the 26 trainees reported to coach Ong Kim Swee at a hotel in Shah Alam.

As a result, the former international was forced to cancel his training session slated later in the day at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya.

The coach instead had a pool recovery session for those who turned up. The team are currently preparing for the Asian Under23 Championship qualifiers on July 19-23, where Malaysia are in Group H with Indonesia, Thailand and Mongolia.

Those who reported were Selangor’s Syahmi Safari and Adam Nor Azlin along with Terengganu’s Amierul Hakimi Awang, Felda United’s Danial Amier Norhisham, Kuala Lumpur’s Irfan Zakaria and Perak’s Ahmad Khairil Anuar Zamri.

Among those who surprisingly did not report were Darul Ta’zim’s Safawi Rasid and Haziq Nadzli, and Johor’s Syazwan Andik Ishak.

However, team manager Datuk Yusoff Mahadi believes he has found a win-win solution with the other concerned teams to release their players in stages before the qualifiers.

T-Team’s Arif Fadzilah Abu Bakar will report tomorrow, followed by PKNP’s Syazwan Zaipol Bahari on Saturday; Felcra’s N. Thanabalan and Adib Zainuddin, Darul Ta’zim’s Safawi and Haziq, and Johor’s Syazwan on Sunday; Petaling Jaya Rangers’ Raphi Azizan Mariappen on Monday; and Kedah’s Amirul Hisyam Awang Kechik, Syafiq Ahmad, Ifwat Akmal Chek Kassim, Ariff Farhan Isa and Farhan Roslan, Kelantan’s Danial Ashraf Abdullah and Sarawak’s Tommy Bada on Wednesday.

The team will have 21 players available for an Under-22 international friendly with Myanmar at Shah Alam Stadium on July 14.

FAM are still trying to secure Pahang ’s Matthew Davies and Nor Azam Abdul Azih along with Penang’s Jafri Firdaus Chew, S. Kumaahran and Syamer Kutty Abba for the qualifiers.

“I believe we will have a full squad before we leave for Bangkok on July 17 for the qualifiers. Ongoing negotiations with Pahang and Penang look promising,” said Yusoff.

“We received requests from teams for leeway for their players to report later only yesterday. There were no options as the teams also need their players for the M-League.

“We were looking at revising the fixtures but some teams were against it. In the future, we will make sure dates are made available for our national youth teams to prepare for international tournaments.”

Yusoff said the team have given their commitment that they will release their players on the dates promised by them.

He added Kim Swee will not have a similar issue when he calls up players for next month’s Sea Games.

When asked whether there will be a review of the team’s target for the Under-23 qualifiers, Kim Swee said they still aim to qualify for the tournament finals.

“It is a challenge but I will try my best to get my team prepared for the qualifiers. This is a new experience… only six players turned up for training but I will continue with the training programme until I get a full squad.

“I have endured many challenges in the past and I believe I can overcome this. However, it will be a challenge to prepare the players tactically as they are now only reporting in stages but I will do the best I can.

“I will see what happens along the way and if I have to, I will call up players not in the initial list for the qualifiers,” said Kim Swee.