Sumareh is no more an ‘import’
Pahang FA (PFA) have got what they wanted — registering Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh as a local player for the M-League, which starts on Feb 1.
This came after PFA’s application for Sumareh has been approved by the Malaysian Football League (MFL).
MFL chief executive Kevin Ramalingam said yesterday the organiser of the M-League has agreed to PFA’s appeal, which was made during the first transfer window for 2019.
Kevin said Sumareh has given a good account of himself while representing Malaysia as a naturalised player in the recent AFF Cup.
He said the move (to have a naturalised player like Sumareh as a local) will improve the quality of the M-League
The MFL’s decision came as a good news to Pahang team manager Datuk Suffian Awang who said he had been hoping for a favourable response.
He said Pahang had hoped the MFL would consider their appeal favourably as Sumareh already possesses a Malaysian identity card and Malaysian passport, and thus should not be registered under the import player category.
With Sumareh getting local player status, this means Pahang can now sign up to five import players.
Suffian said Sumareh’s foreign quota place is likely to be taken over by a foreign striker.