FAM wants Harimau Malaya to roar in Asia

KUALA LUMP UR: After delivering a commendable performance at the ASEAN stage by emerging runners- up in the AFF Suzuki Cup on Dec 15, the Football Association of Malaysia ( FAM) now wants the Harimau Malaya squad to roar at the Asian level.

FAM secretary- general Stuart Ramalingam said the squad’s first and ultimate priority for 2019 is to showcase a notable performance in the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers, besides improving its Federation of International Football Association( FIFA) ranking.

Noting the team’ s good performance when facing narrow defeats against two top-100 ranked teams, namely world numbers 91 Kyrgyzstan and 100 Vietnam recently, Stuart said Malaysia shouldn’t be dwindling in the 167th place.

“I think we should be in the top 100. It is FAM’s goal to improve our position. Even in the recent AFF Cup, our performance was not far against Thailand and Vietnam, the two ASEAN teams which qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup. The qualifiers is going to be a big test for head coach, Tan Cheng Hoe, if he stays on (his contract expires end of Dec).

“It is time for us to look beyond the ASEAN level … But we must get quality, friendly matches to start preparation for the World and Asian Cup Qualifiers. If we play against ASEAN teams and step into the Qualifiers, it is really a high-intensity level,” Stuart told reporters.

“I hope the players will absorb this (AFF Cup) experience to move to a greater level since we have a very young squad with some experienced players. I hope this experience brings them to the next level when we go to the Qualifiers and hopefully start performing much better,” he added.

Stuart said the national side has received queries from countries as far as Paraguay, the world number 32 and former South American champions, as well as some West Asian countries for two friendly fixtures in March.

However, considering the distance to travel and cost involved, he said the decision will only be made after discussion with Tan on his preferences and plans.

“I am already listening to the countries that we can play … We have already written to the countries to check on their calendar. Hopefully, by end of this year, we will know who we are playing in March and June,” he said.

Meanwhile, Stuart described Harimau Malaya’s 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup campaign as amazing, with the boys inspiring many to say: “Finally, I can watch Malaysian football”.