FAM TAKE AIM AT 2024 PARIS
Under-19 side will likely play in Sea Games ahead of Olympic qualifiers
THE 2024 Paris Olympics is the FA of Malaysia’s (FAM) main target for the national Under-19 team.
And the national body will likely use next year’s Vietnam Sea Games to expose Brad Maloney’s side against the region’s best Under-22 teams.
However, it is still only a proposal as no concrete decision has been made yet.
“We met the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) today (yesterday), and the meeting was a lot on the Sea Games,” said FAM vice-president Datuk S. Sivasundaram at Wisma OCM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“We spoke about the possibility of sending our Under-19 team for the Sea Games, but there is no decision on that just yet.
“There will be a national team management committee meeting soon to discuss it.
“However, we are l ooking ahead and seriously considering our Under-19 side for the Sea Games as the main goal is the 2024 Olympic qualifiers. But again, nothing is confirmed at this stage.”
Malaysia suffered a huge disappointment at last year’s Sea Games when they were knocked out of the group stages following defeats to minnows Cambodia and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the FAM are also looking to reduce the age restrictions for the Malaysia Games.
“We will go along with the current age restrictions for next year’s Johor Malaysia Games, but there have been proposals from our side to reduce the age category even more,” said FAM committee member ACP (Rtd) Dali Wahid.
The Malaysia Games football competition is currently an Under-21 competition with Perak being the reigning champions.