Respect the Merdeka Cup

It has been rather 'interesting' reading several comments on Twitter on how certain folks are defending the fact Thailand has sent a team comprising of mainly lower division league players. Sadly none spoke about the need of  teams respecting tournaments.

It reminds one of the Monomotapa United FC fiasco in 2009. A team of more than 20-odd players form ONE particular club donned the national jersey and played K.Rajagobal's squad. When pressed for answers, the then FA of Malaysia general secretary was not amused, as he produced a letter by the Zimbabwe FA, signed off by its chief executive officer Henritta Rushwaya, insisting the African side is the national team.

When Rushwaya was booked for several offences including her involvement in match-fixing including the match against Malaysia, FAM then quickly changed its tune by saying; "oh but how can we question a fellow FA."

It must be stressed that this is in NO implying the Thai team in Kuantan is anything like the Zimbabwe team masquerading as the national team.

However, it is about respecting the tournament. The Merdeka Cup has a rich history and was once known to attract the likes of big guns including South Korea, UAE and Japan.

Times have changed and getting teams to Malaysia is no longer an easy task. Thus one would agree with comments that reviving the tournament is a good effort that required a lot of hard work. But that does not mean teams can treat it like a circus.

In reality, even the Thai Press are clueless about the Merdeka Cup. As far as they are concerned, none of the players in Kuantan are considered "national team material".

Perhaps the next time Thailand holds a tournament, we could send 16 players from Sentul All-Stars two each from Kosas United and Sungai Siput FC. We can get a letter from FAM saying these players are representing the nation (sic).

Let's hope teams do not make a mockery of this once prestigious tournament and join forces to aid this cause.

Meanwhile, here are two interesting articles about two players from the Harimau Muda A squad.

Merdeka Under-23 inclusion a dream come true for Ariff, reports The Star while NST says This one's for dad.

HD says: Don't forget to catch Malaysia v Singapore this evening (kick off 5.30pm).

Comments

  1. Blame it on the "ranking not important" "policy". In the hand of FAM, that is the kind of "respect" malaysian football is getting from other football nations - despite the awards and "recognition" FAM received.

    Kamarul

    ReplyDelete
  2. you can't really blame other federations for not caring about our tournament. if the quality is not there, they would not be bothered.

    after all, they would want to challenge more difficult opponents. and i believe they sight their sights on other tournaments/qualies such as AFC Cup, World Cup etc.

    so, to our football team, better start winning, and then people will be forced to pay attention to us! And then they will come.

    ReplyDelete

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