KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (NNN-BERNAMA) – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will meet with the Korean Football Association (KFA) next week to discuss training programmes for national players in clubs under the Korean League (K-League).
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the meeting with his Korean counterpart Chung Mong Gyu was a continuation of efforts by the FAM which had previously collaborated with the Japanese Football Association (JFA) to enable Malaysian players to gain experience with Japanese football clubs.
He said one of the issues being discussed with the KFA was FAM’s intention to send at least one or two Malaysian players to undergo training in a South Korean club.
“We know Japan and South Korea are teams with a high level of discipline and both countries have often qualified for the World Cup. So this is what we need to emulate, but we must be patient and continue trying,” he added.
He told this to the media after the opening ceremony of the Johor Darul Ta’zim Football Club (JDT) headquarters in Gelang Patah yesterday.
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SPORTS-FAM (SOUTH KOREA) 2 (LAST) ISKANDAR PUTERI
The FAM had announced on Sunday that six football players of the national under-18 squad, would undergo training with Cerezo Osaka, a Japanese football team. The training which started on Tuesday ends on Sept 13.
Those in the team are the squad’s “star” Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, Muhammad Firdaus Kaironnisam, Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar and Ali Imran Sukari.
The second stage will see Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman and Ahmad Zikri Mohd Khalili together with Luqman Hakim at the JFA Academy and FC Tokyo in October.
Hamidin said the players would be evaluated on their performance before they start playing for the Japanese clubs.
“So, we need the commitment from the players to make sure they are ready to play overseas and leave their families behind for something different,” he said.
On the question of some parties who felt that the two-week training stint would not have any significant impact on the players, Hamidin said all parties should understand the essence of the Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU) signed between FAM and JFA.
“The two weeks are for trial and exposure for these young players on how professional clubs in Japan play.
“If we don’t carry out (what has been stipulated in the MoU), it will not be easy for us to work and collaborate with professional clubs,” he said.
— BERNAMA