Boost for Harimau Malaya after receiving approval for quarantine-based centralised training

BetOdds Malaysia WC Qualification Asia Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak UAE UAE v Malaysia Vietnam Malaysia v Vietnam

It will be a positive start to 2021 for the Malaysia national team after they received a special approval to conduct centralised training.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) revealed that they have successfully got the approval from the relevant authorities for Tan Cheng Hoe to be able to conduct a training camp, the first since last 2019.

After going an entire year without having the chance to gather the players together, with matches and training camps being continually postponed because of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, this latest news will undoubtedly provide a big boost to Cheng Hoe and co.

Initial plans to hold a training camp in January were squashed when the Malaysian government announced the return of the Movement Control Order (MCO) because of the spike coronavirus cases but FAM did not relent and eventually managed to persuade the authorities with the appropriate plans.

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin was particularly thankful to the efforts put in by Youth and Spors Minister Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican who played a huge role in helping to secure the approval.

"Massive appreciation to Dato' Sri Reezal who is always attentive to the needs of the national team and he has done a lot to ensure that we can get back to training to prepare the team for the qualifiers in March. With a quarantine-style centralised training, we can make proper planning in getting the approval from MSN (National Sports Council) in terms of facilities before setting the date.

"There are a lot to consider especially with the M-League club releasing their players before the big league kick-off at the end of February and we will need to assess everything before making further announcements," said Hamidin in a statement.

The latest news was obviously well-received by the head coach of the national team with Cheng Hoe already working with his team of officials to ensure that the right procedures are put in place to ensure maximum health and safety priorities are put in place for the training camp.

"Of course this is good news for us and we have to quickly iron out all the details in terms of the training program because we are aware of the high number of Covid-19 cases in the country and we must make sure that nothing happens to our players and officials. To get this opportunity gives us the chance to prepare the team ahead of the matches in March," said Cheng Hoe.

National team captain, Johor Darul Ta'zim's Aidil Zafuan also echoed the joy in seeing this latest development as he knows that the team does not have too much time on their hands if they are to catch back up to the other challengers in the group who have not suffered as long a break as Malaysia did.

"It's a positive news for the players to be able to return back to training after more than a year of not being able to get together and we must make full use of this allowance. We've seen the other teams in the group getting to train earlier and if we do not get the go ahead ourselves, for sure we will lack behind the others.

"This is the news that us players have been waiting for and for sure it is vital that we are able to train together again," said Aidil.

Skuad Harimau Malaya dijadual menghadapi perlawanan keenam dan ketujuh Kumpulan G bagi Pusingan 2 Kelayakan Piala Dunia 2022/Piala Asia 2023 bertemu UAE pada 25 Mac 2021 di tempat lawan dan menentang Vietnam pada 30 Mac 2021 di gelanggang sendiri.

2021-01-20 10:00:05

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