KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia received a favourable draw in two Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qualifiers – the 2018 Under 19 (U-19) and Under 16 (U-16) championships which are slated to be held in September and October this year.

Based on the draw held at AFC Hous, here today, the national U-16 squad have been drawn in Group J with Guam and Indonesia but the real test will be against Japan who emerged victorious twice, back in 1994 and 2006.

Malaysia also received an easy passage to qualify to the final round of the U-19 championship as they have been drawn in Group F with three ASEAN rivals; Timor Leste, Brunei and Indonesia but facing a mammoth task against 12-time champions, South Korea who will be hosting the qualifying matches.

Based on the competition format in both qualifiers, the group winners in each of the 10 groups and also the five second-placed best teams will advance to the final rounds.

The 2018 U-16 Qualifiers will be held from Sept 16-24 while the 2018 U-19 Qualifiers from Oct 31 to Nov 8 this year in the selected host countries.

Meanwhile, AFC Head of National Team Competitions Avazbek Berdikulov revealed that Malaysia have expressed their interest to host the U-16 Final Round meet while Indonesia and Myanmar are also keen to host the U-19 Final Round meet.

He noted that the increasing number of teams taking part in both qualifiers show that AFC affiliates realise the importance of such tournaments for youth development in their respective countries.

“The only difference for this year is that each group in the qualifying round comprise four or five teams compared to the previous edition which was up to eight teams in each group. We try to make it easier for the participating teams to play in the qualifiers, thus qualify to the final round,” he said.
U-19 Qualifiers Draw:

Group A: Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan (host)

Group B: Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Tajikistan (host)

Group C: Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Qatar (host)

Group D: Yemen, Turkmenistan, India, Saudi Arabia (host)

Group E: Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iran (host)

Group F: MALAYSIA, Timor Leste, Brunei, Indonesia, South Korea (host)

Group G: China, Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia (host)

Group H: Vietnam, Laos, Taiwan, Macau (host)

Group I: Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Mongolia (host)

Group J: Australia, North Korea, Hong Kong, Northern Mariana Islands (host)

U-16 Qualifiers Draw:

Group A: Uzbekistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia (host)

Group B: Oman, Syria, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Tajikistan (host)

Group C: Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Bhutan, Iran (host)

Group D: Iraq, India, Palestine, Nepal (host)

Group E: United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Bangladesh, Qatar (host)

Group F: North Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Brunei Darussalam (host)

Group G: Laos, Timor Leste, Northern Mariana Islands, Indonesia, Thailand (host)

Group H: South Korea, China, Myanmar, Philippines (host)

Group I: Vietnam, Australia, Cambodia, Mongolia (host)

Group J: Japan, MALAYSIA, Singapore, Guam – BERNAMA

Ceres 0-0 Felda United: Fighters hold Busmen to goalless draw.

KUALA LUMPUR – Last year’s Super League runner-up Felda United’s winless
streak continued in the AFC Cup competition after managing only a 0-0 draw
against Ceres Negros FC at the Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod
City, Philiphines last night.

The goalless draw saw Felda United remain at the bottom of Group G after
three matches with two points from two draws and a loss.

Felda United had lost 1-2 to Tampines Rovers from Singapore on Feb 21,
before managing a 1-1 draw against Vietnam’s Hanoi FC on March 7.

In the action that was telecast live by Astro’s Foxsports, both teams
dished out fast, attacking play but failed to find the target, largely due to
the agility of their goalkeepers and defenders.

Felda United had a golden opportunity to clinch all three points when the
referee awarded a penalty in the 58th minute when striker Norshahrul Idlan
Talaha was brought down inside the box.

However, Argentine import Lucas Cano’s tame shot was saved by Ceres Negros
goalkeeper Roland Muller.

Meanwhile, in another Group G match played today, Hanoi FC scored a
convincing 4-0 victory over Tampines Rovers at the My Dinh Stadium in Vietnam.
— BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR – The 2019 Asia Cup final round qualifier between North Korea and Malaysia scheduled for March 28 in Pyongyang has been  postponed to a later date.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in a statement today said a new date for the match will be announced in due course.

“AFC’s Competitions Committee took the decision to postpone the tie following the escalating diplomatic tensions between the Governments of North Korea and Malaysia,” said AFC in its official website, www.the-afc.com.

The Harimau Malaysia squad led by Datuk Ong Kim Swee was originally scheduled to face North Korea in the Group B opening match for the qualifying at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in the country’s capital, Pyongyang.

However, due to diplomatic tensions following the murder of the North Korean leader’s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, at the Kuala Lumupur International Airport 2 (klia2) on Feb 13, the government had prohibited Harimau Malaysia from playing in that country due to security reasons.

Following that, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) on Monday had requested AFC to change the venue to a neutral ground.

The situation worsened on Tuesday when the Malaysian government also banned North Koreans in Malaysia from leaving the country, after North Korea barred 11 Malaysians from leaving that country.

The request for a neutral ground is not something new in football as= countries such as Israel, Palestine, Syria and Saudi Arabia have played at neutral venues for certain reasons.

Meanwhile, FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin welcomed the decision saying it was the right move in the interest of the safety and security of the players and officials.

“On the new date and venue, FAM leaves it to the AFC to decide and we will cooperate fully on the matter,” he said.

He added that the international friendly between Malaysia and the Phlippines on March 22 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila would go on as scheduled as it was a good opportunity for Malaysia to improve on its world ranking (Malaysia are currently ranked 161st). – BERNAMA