KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 – The M-League will kick off on March 5 – one week delay from its original scheduled date of Feb 26, has been welcomed by many parties.
Malaysian Football League chief operating officer, Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan also had more good news for the stakeholders that this year’s league will be fully played over two rounds.
The prestigious Malaysia Cup and the Challenge Cup (for teams that do not qualify for the Malaysia Cup) will also be played home and away.
However, for the second year running, the FA Cup has been canceled. This is to avoid a tight schedule for the teams apart from taking into consideration that the national team will also be involved in the World Cup/Asia Cup qualifiers.
Football Coaches Association of Malaysia president, B. Satianathan welcomed the delay to the M-League as it will give the teams more time to prepare.
“Football is an industry and the postponement of the league gives the industry players some breathing space after a year of uncertainty.
Many sponsors are holding back their sponsorship as they are not sure if the league will take place.
”With the assurance given by MFL, it will begin a week later than the original date and that will be a full league which is good news for a start. Although it will be delayed for only one week. it is still good news,” said Satianathan who is now the technical director of Sarawak United.
The former national coach leaves with his family for Kuching on Feb 2.
“Football is a team game. It is not an individual game and you need team training to work out strategies to gel the team. It is impossible to do individual training and take it to the field for a game. This is simply not feasible. Teams need at least three weeks of preparations before the league begins.
”Our strict SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are good enough for the M-League to be held. In Europe, league competitions are allowed with fans. Hopefully, we can do the same if we get the green light from the authorities.”
The league will kick off with the Charity Shield match between Johor Darul Takzim and Kedah. The match will be played in Johor Bahru.
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