National under-16 coach dismissed
KUAL A LUMPU R: The Malaysian Football Association ( FAM) has taken a drastic move to end the national Under-16 squad chief coach Lim Teong Kim’s service following Malaysia’s failure to qualify for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) B16 Championship quarter- finals round.
A 0-2 defeat to Japan in the last Group A match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday scuppered Malaysia’s dream to play in the 2019 Under-17 World Cup in Peru.
FAM secretary-general Michael Stuart Ramalingam in a statement said the dismissal was decided at the instruction of FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
“The decision was made based on the national squad’s performance that did not go past the group stage,” he said.
Ramalingam said Hamidin had directed his deputy Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal to call the FAM Technical and Youth Development Committee to convene a meeting as soon as possible with FAM technical director Peter de Roo to form a selection panel to find a new coach for squad.
The list of new candidates will be brought to the FAM Executive Committee meeting for further consideration.
Ramalingam said the master body had no contract with Teong Kim, but the former national player had an agreement with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the National Sports Council.
“FAM’s powers are limited to the appointments of head coach and panel of assistants, but Teong Kim still has a contract with his employer. It is up to KBS to determine the future of Teong Kim,’’ explained Ramalingam.
He also the thanked Malaysian supporters who were present at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium to support the team since the opening game on Sept 20.
The U-16 squad is the first team formed through the National Football Development Programme ( NFDP) since four years ago.
They kicked off their campaign on the right footing after sinking Tajikistan 6-2 on Sept 20, but lost 2- 4 to Thailand three days later.
Malaysia lost 0- 2 to two- time champions Japan in the last action in the early round of the tournament at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
The loss doused the hopes of the national squad to repeat the achievement of S Balachandran’s charges who were denied a berth in the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile after losing 2-1 to Australia in the quarter-finals in Thailand in 2014. — Bernama