National Olympic team coach Ong Kim Swee’s request for postponement of three Super Leaque matches involving his players has been approved by FAM’s Competitions Committee.
Kim Swee had requested that the three matches in involving Harimau Muda ‘A’ (Young Tigers A) in June be postponed to July so that he would have sufficient time to prepare his team for the second round of the Asian Zone Olympic Qualifiers.
The three postponed matches are against Terengganu (June 14), Sabah (June 17) and Pahang (June 21). The core of the Olympic team is made up of members of the Tigers squad.
The Olympic team, who defeated Pakistan 2-0 on aggregate in the first round, is scheduled to play their second round matches on June 19 and 23. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will conduct the draw on March 30.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) Vice President and Competitions Committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the new dates for the re-scheduled matches would be decided after the draw.
"We approved the request from coaches who felt it would be too tight for them to concentrate on both the league and the qualifiers during that time," said Datuk Hamidin after chairing the competitions committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, Wednesday.
Datuk Hamidin also said, the Shah Alam City Hall (MBSA) has been asked to repair the pitch at the Shah Alam Stadium, which will be venue for the FA Cup final on June 11.
"They will need to resurface the pitch as it looks unplayable. I have been informed that MBSA has started to rectify the problem and the stadium would be closed until April 1.
"Selangor may have to play their home matches away if the pitch cannot be ready on time,” said Datuk Hamidin.
Meanwhile, the Super League match between Sabah and Tigers A, which was called off on March 13 due to unsatisfactory pitch conditions at the Likas Stadium, will be rescheduled to a later date. The host will have to bear the travelling and board and lodging cost of the visiting team.