MCO: MFL prepared for any eventuality

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Football League (MFL) is prepared for any eventuality regarding the organisation of the 2021 Malaysian League (M-League) if the Movement Control Order (MCO) is enforced beyond Jan 26.

MFL chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said the organisers of M-League are better prepared now as they had learnt from the disruptions caused by an earlier MCO last year.

MFL had lined up several alternative plans to ensure all competitions in the M-League could proceed as planned, he said.

“MFL welcomes the government's move to implement the MCO for certain states because of the spike n Covid-19 cases and we understand the need for this.

“We earnestly hope that the MCO would not be extended because the M-League calendar including for several competitions had been issued to ensure the smooth running of the 2021 season,” he said in a statement yesterday. On Monday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the MCO would be enforced in six states - Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah from yesterday until Jan 26.

Another six states - Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan - have been placed under the Conditional MCO (CMCO) while Perlis and Sarawak are under the Recovery MCO for the same period.

Ab Ghani said for now, MFL would stick to Feb 26 as the kickoff date for M-League.

“If the MCO is lifted on Jan 26, all teams would have enough time to make pre-season preparations for the league, which begins with the Charity Shield on Feb 26,” he added.

He urged all teams to cooperate by observing the standard operating procedure throughout the season to ensure the league could run without any problems if allowed by the government.