Pix by Nur Adibah Ahmad Izam
KUALA LUMPUR: The FA of Malaysia (FAM) will bid to host the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship, which doubles up as a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.
The 2020 tournament will offer four Olympic slots.
FAM general secretary Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said: “FAM president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has given his blessing to bid for the competition.”
Malaysia’s quarter-final performance in the recent AFC Under-23 edition in China has given national youth coach Ong Kim Swee the confidence that he can groom a team good enough to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The qualifying round for the 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship starts next year.
On Kim Swee’s proposal to field a national Under-21 team for the Indonesia Asian Games later this year, Hamidin said: “Based on a recent discussion with our president (Tunku Ismail), we will likely send our Under-23 team for the Asian Games.”
“The Asian Games is an Under-23 competition where each team can name three senior players,” Hamidin added.
keywords: football, FAM, bid, 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship, Tokyo Olympics.