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Malaysia heavily criticized for relying on naturalized players, Merdeka tournament returns?

The Malaysian press and football experts called on the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) to admit its mistake in withdrawing the team from the Central Asian tournament because it relied too much on naturalized players.

Báo Thanh niênBáo Thanh niên18/07/2025

Overly excited after winning against Vietnam, FAM fears Malaysia will drop in FIFA ranking

According to Malaysian football critic Dr Pekan Ramli: "FAM must take responsibility. Their last-minute withdrawal from the Central Asian tournament - CAFA Nations Cup 2025 has tarnished the image of Malaysian football and risks damaging relations with regional football governing bodies. This is the result of over-excitement and strategic miscalculation, due to over-confidence in naturalized players."

Malaysia bị chỉ trích kịch liệt vì phụ thuộc cầu thủ nhập tịch, giải Merdeka trở lại? - Ảnh 1.

Brazilian-born player Joao Figueiredo, after naturalizing and playing for the Malaysian national team, joined the Johor Darul Ta'zim club.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

According to some sources from the Malaysian press, FAM has confirmed the participation in the Central Asian championship with the continent's top teams such as Iran and Uzbekistan who have won tickets to the 2026 World Cup, right after the resounding 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10 thanks to a squad of naturalized players.

However, the naturalized players later caused a fierce controversy over whether their ancestral origins were related to Malaysia or not. The matter is still simmering, although FAM affirmed that they did not receive any information from FIFA and AFC to consider the issues as raised by public opinion.

Another confusing thing is that FAM announced its withdrawal from the Central Asian tournament just one day after the country's U.23 team was crushed by the underdog Philippines with a score of 0-2 in the opening match of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament taking place in Indonesia.

"We need to be honest. This is not CAFA's (Central Asian Football Federation) fault. FAM knew from the beginning that the matches were early and not on the FIFA schedule, but they still agreed to participate. This should have been investigated earlier. You can't say that you only found out now.

Was it overconfidence in securing naturalised players? Logistical issues? All these should have been considered in advance, including the consequences of participating in the tournament and losing without key and naturalised players, which could seriously damage the team’s FIFA ranking and reputation…”, Dr Pekan Ramli expressed.

Malaysia bị chỉ trích kịch liệt vì phụ thuộc cầu thủ nhập tịch, giải Merdeka trở lại? - Ảnh 2.

Coach Peter Cklamovski (middle) and the Malaysian team after the match against the Vietnamese team on June 10.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

According to Dr Pekan Ramli: "This is a wrong strategic calculation. They thought that they could get all the naturalized players, but when they did not have enough and they were afraid that losing the match would affect the recent resounding achievement (the victory over the Vietnamese team), and possibly the naturalization project ahead, they suddenly announced their withdrawal. This not only harmed Malaysian football but also the image of the country. FAM must admit its mistake."

Meanwhile, according to coach Peter Cklamovski, after the Malaysian team withdrew from the Central Asian Championship, he is asking FAM to study the possibility of reorganizing the Merdeka tournament in the FIFA Days schedule from September 1 to 9. Thereby, to prepare for the next matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Laos on October 9 and 14, and Nepal on November 18. But currently no team has considered participating.

The Merdeka tournament has been held since 1957, and this year the tournament was not initially held because the Malaysian team confirmed their participation in the Central Asian tournament. However, their recent withdrawal has opened up the opportunity to re-organize the tournament. The question is, after recent events, whether any team will confirm their participation, according to the New Straits Times .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-bi-chi-trich-kich-liet-vi-phu-thuoc-cau-thu-nhap-tich-giai-merdeka-tro-lai-185250718094745823.htm


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