On July 16, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) unexpectedly announced that they would not participate in the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup, a tournament they had confirmed at the end of June. The reason for the withdrawal was given by FAM: "Malaysia is eager to participate in the CAFA Cup but the tournament has had changes that have caused the schedule to fall outside the official FIFA international competition framework (FIFA Days). This affects the team's ability to prepare.
The latest fixtures, updated after the official draw, will take place from August 29 to September 8, outside the FIFA Days, meaning clubs are not required to release players. The Malaysian team, with key players playing in countries such as Spain, Argentina, Colombia and Japan, will face major obstacles in assembling a strong squad.
With a strong naturalization policy, Malaysia has a squad with many players competing in tournaments in many countries around the world (Photo: Getty).
However, FAM's withdrawal from the tournament just over a month before its start made CAFA unhappy. The announcement from CAFA stated: "FAM's decision to withdraw was made quite late, despite having previously confirmed its participation and knowing the tournament's schedule (August 29 - September 8), and the tournament's schedule remained the same from the beginning."
The Central Asian Football Confederation expressed disappointment over the sudden withdrawal of the Malaysian team and disagreed with the FAM's reason for difficulty in calling up players.
CAFA added: “CAFA expressed its disappointment, stressing that this sudden withdrawal has affected the preparation and planning process which was already in its final stages.
The reason given by FAM is that the tournament is not fully on the FIFA international calendar, leading to concerns about limiting the ability to call up players. However, CAFA rejects this argument. According to tournament regulations, the final player registration, selected from a preliminary list of 35, can be submitted on a match-by-match basis. This allows maximum flexibility, allowing key players to join the team for subsequent matches.
Despite this incident, CAFA affirms its commitment to providing a high-quality and competitive tournament for Central Asian football fans. The federation also thanks its member countries for their continued support and cooperation."
Next September, FIFA days will take place from September 1 to September 9, not much different from the schedule of the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup, but FAM still decided to cancel the tournament.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/lien-doan-bong-da-trung-a-phan-bac-ly-do-bo-giai-cua-malaysia-20250717194132995.htm
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