KUALA LUMPUR: KL City's foreign players Paulo Josue and Romel Morales are set to be Malaysian citizens by year end, thus making them eligible to play for Harimau Malaya.
This was announced by Kuala Lumpur FA (KLFA) secretary-general Nokman Mustaffa today.
He said KLFA will help with Brazilian Josue's application for citizenship first followed by Colombian Morales in October or November.
He said KLFA will help the duo, who played a key role in the City team winning the Malaysia Cup last year, become naturalised players.
Josue, 33, joined KL City from Brazilian club Votuporanguense on May 31, 2017. He has made 81 appearances for the City Boys, scoring 29 goals.
Morales, 25, joined KL City in 2021, after leaving Melaka United, but he has been in the M-League since Jan 5, 2018, playing for Selangor II for two seasons.
It is learnt that Josue's capability as KL skipper and Morales' predatory skill as a striker have caught the eye of national coach Kim Pan Gon.
"For me, Josue is the best midfielder in Malaysia. Without him, I don't think KL City can go far. Because of him we are where we are today," said Nokman.
This season, KL City made history by reaching the AFC Cup inter-zone playoff final against Uzbekistan's Sogdiana Jizzakh on Wednesday.