Worth the $weat
National U-23 squad to receive RM6,000 each and more
SEPANG: The national Under-23 football team and coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee will be amply rewarded after qualifying for next year’s AFC Under-23 Championship Finals in China.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the 22-member squad will receive RM6,000 each. And more rewards are expected to come their way.
Kim Swee’s contract, which ends in November, is also expected to be extended to keep him in charge for the Finals from Jan 9-27 and the Indonesian Asian Games from Aug 18-Sept 2 next year.
“The FAM would like to congratulate the team for their success and our president (Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim) will meet the team soon. He’ll announce more rewards,” said Hamidin after welcoming the team at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
“Tunku Ismail will also discuss with the M-League organisers – the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLPP) – to ensure that the team is given ample time to prepare for their assignments next year,” added Hamidin.
Malaysia booked their berth in the Finals for the first time after emerging as Group H champions in the qualifiers which ended in Bangkok on Sunday.
Kim Swee’s side opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Indonesia on Wednesday but they suffered a 3-0 loss to Thailand on Friday before bouncing back to beat Mongolia 2-0 on Sunday to top the group with six points.
It was a major success as the team only had five days of centralised training due to the reluctance of the M-League teams to release their players for the assignment.
“We didn’t have an ideal preparation but the players showed their determination. Credit should go to them. It’s an achievement to quali- fy for the Finals as group winners,” said Kim Swee.
He added that the players should now focus their attention on winning the gold at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Aug 19-30.
“The Games will be another test for us. The door is still open for other players to make the team,” said Kim Swee.