Courtesy: Bernama.com


15 Get Chance To Join National Futsal Squad


PETALING JAYA, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- The goal of having a national futsal squad is nearing reality. Fifteen players competing in the Malaysian Futsal League have been selected for centralised training at Wisma FAM here to form the team.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad said the selection was made based on their performance in two circuits of the league held so far.

"They have been put under the care of coach P. Balakrishnan and have just completed the first phase of centralised training which was held from Feb 15 to 23.

"The second phase began on Sunday and will last until the team leaves for Teheran to participate in a clubs' invitational competition there," he told reporters after attending the groups' balloting ceremony for the third circuit of the Malaysian Futsal League at Wisma FAM, Tuesday.

He said the Teheran invitation was to give the national team early exposure as they would be meeting clubs from China, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Japan and Kyrgyzstan before playing in the qualifiers for the AFC Futsal Championship in Kuantan in April.

He said, of the 15 players, five were seniors who had been trained by the earlier coach, Silvio Sergio Machado of Brazil, while the other 10 were new.

The seniors are Zaidi Ramli (Armed Forces), Mohd Saiful Md Noor (Kedah MBAS), Mohd Feroz Ab Karnim (City Hall), Mohd Aidel Boon Abdullah (Police) and Mohd Zaidi Zulkhapri (Perak DBI).

The 10 new players are Nik Zainudin Nik Othman (Armed Forces), Abd Halim Abd Hadi, Mohd Fuad Yusoff, Mohd Azahari Ithnain (all from Johor AOB), Norul Ahyat Elias (Kedah MBAS), V. Muneswaran, M. Karthik (Penang), Mohd Zary Affendi Mohd Arif, K. Thayalan (MPSJ) and A. Gopinath (Selangor SUKSES).

Ibrahim said in the qualifiers in Kuantan, Malaysia would be up against the Maldives, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Turkmenistan. The finals will be held in Uzbekistan in May.

Meanwhile, Balakrishnan said it was difficult to predict the chances of the team as they were rather new.

"I need time to evaluate their capabilities as they have just come together. But I will do my best to ensure they become a formidable team. "They play well both in football and futsal. Their performance in Iran will give us a good indication," he said.

For Mohd Zary Affendi Mohd Arif, 27, being selected to the national team was something he was very proud but was a little sad that his team in the Malaysian Futsal League would have to do without him during its third circuit in Penang on March 10 and 11.

"I hope they continue to do their best although K. Thayalan (who was also selected for the national team) and I won't be with them," he said.

At the draw Tuesday, Kelantan B, DBKL, Johor AOB and Penang FA were lumped in Group G while Kelantan A, Kedah MBAS, ATM and MPSJ are to see intense competition in Group H.

The third circuit will be held at the Sports Planet in Seberang Jaya, Penang. In the second circuit MPSJ led the others with a total of nine points followed by Kedah MBAS with eight points and Johor AOB in third place with seven points.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com