KUALA LUMPUR - Football legend Jamal Nasir Ismail has urged the national team to move on from the dark episode involving heritage players and instead focus on bigger challenges, including building a home-grown team for the future.
He said the priority now is to build a sustainable team by giving more opportunities to local players to shine, especially during the 2031 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Jamal said this in response to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decision yesterday for Malaysia to forfeit two matches in the Asian Cup qualifiers last year over the fielding of ineligible players.
"The AFC decision cannot be changed. What matters now is how we rise and prepare for the next cycle towards 2031. This bitter experience must serve as a lesson, as we have seen the magnitude of the losses, including the fines imposed.
"We need to identify, develop and provide opportunities for local players. It is not because they lack quality, but because they lack opportunities. Local players always play with full commitment and will never betray the country,” he told Bernama today.
He pointed out that Malaysia had qualified for the 1972 and 1980 Olympics - the country's highest achievements in football history - using home-bred players, which proved that local players are not inferior.
"Look at countries like Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. They invest heavily in sending young players abroad to gain exposure. That is where real quality is built. If we rely solely on the domestic league, it is still not enough,” he said.
Sports observer Pekan Ramli views the match against Vietnam in the final Group F fixture of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on March 31 as the best opportunity for Harimau Malaya to restore pride, but advised players to mentally prepare themselves to be "immune” to criticism.
"We are fortunate not to have been suspended like Timor-Leste. This means we still have room to plan a comeback, even though our hope of qualifying for the Asian Cup may have been dashed. The focus now is the team’s future,” he said.
Malaysia were declared to have lost 3-0 to Nepal and Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying matches after the AFC ruled that Harimau Malaya had fielded ineligible players in those games.
Following the penalty, Harimau Malaya have accumulated only nine points in the qualifiers and risk losing their spot in the 2027 Asian Cup.
Before the decision, Malaysia led the group with 15 points, followed by Vietnam with 12, Laos with three, and Nepal without any points.
Even if Malaysia defeat Vietnam in the final group match on March 31, it would still not be enough for the national squad to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, as they would have only 12 points, while Vietnam would top the group with 15.
Only the top team in the group qualify for the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia from Jan 7 to Feb 5.
The AFC had opened an investigation into FAM over alleged document falsification involving seven heritage players, who had earlier been suspended by FIFA in September over the same allegations.
The seven players are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel. - BERNAMA