All Whites keen to play in Malaysia

The All Whites are hoping to be involved in a tournament in Malaysia during the March international window.

It is understood New Zealand Football has been involved in discussions about a revival of the Merdeka tournament, celebrating Malaysian Independence Day, which was last held in 2013.

The All Whites have taken part in the friendly tournament on several occasions, most recently in 2000, where a squad featuring Noah Hickey, Ryan Nelsen, and Ben Sigmund beat Malaysia, a Malaysian under-23 team, and Oman to be crowned champions.

Oman could be involved again this time, with Hong Kong also mooted as a possible entrant.

The return of the Merdeka tournament was signalled in Malaysian media late last year, but there have been no updates since, and time is running out for the host association to get it over the line.

The international window begins on March 18, which means players and their clubs have to be notified of callups by March 3, less than three weeks from now.

Teams are only supposed to play two matches during international windows, so there would likely be two semifinals to start the four-team tournament, with the winners and losers then meeting, if it were to come to fruition.

All Whites coach Fritz Schmid’s previous role as Malaysia’s technical director is sure to have helped him get his team in the mix.