PETALING JAYA (Malaysia), Feb 13 NNN-(Bernama) — There has been no official request from the Korean Football Association (KFA) to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for the national team head coach Kim Pan Gon to return to his country of birth.
This was confirmed by FAM vice-president Mohd Yusoff Mahadi, who said that Pan Gon would continue to helm the national senior squad, who are preparing for a crucial match in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Oman in March.
“The South Korean team did not submit any official request to take back Pan Gon. It was South Korea who proposed Pan Gon’s name to help improve Malaysia’s performance. So, it’s unlikely that they would want to recall him when we need him the most.
“We have already signed a contract extension with Pan Gon. Our plans with Pan Gon are long-term. We (FAM) have our plans to ensure the continued improvement of our team’s performance and we can see that there has been improvement under Pan Gon’s guidance,” he told reporters Tuesday.
Pan Gon’s name went viral on social media recently, with claims that he is being recalled to South Korea to help rebuild the Taegeuk Warriors’ shattered reputation after failing to end their 64-year wait to lift the Asian Cup.
The Malaysian team created a sensation when they held the Taegeuk Warriors 3-3 in their last Group E match of the Asian Cup at the Al Janoub Stadium on Jan 28.
However, that was not enough for the Harimau Malaya to create history by advancing into the last 16 as they had lost both their earlier Group E matches against Jordan (0-4) and Bahrain (0-1), resulting in them finishing bottom of the group with just one point.
— NNN-BERNAMA