KUALA LUMPUR (15 March 2017) – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Wednesday at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur that the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Qualifying Round match between DPR Korea and Malaysia, originally scheduled for March 28, 2017 in Pyongyang, will now take place on June 8, 2017.
Following the AFC Competitions Committee’s decision to postpone the match on March 10, the AFC has since written to DPR Korea Football Association on March 13 asking it to nominate a neutral venue by April 14, in the event the bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries have not returned to normal.
Should the match be played in a neutral venue, the match between Malaysia and DPR Korea scheduled for November 14, 2017 in Malaysia will also be played at a neutral venue to preserve sporting values and the spirit of fair play.
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John presented the AFC’s match competition principles and the decision-making process, which led to the postponement of the match.
He said: “The match has now been confirmed to take place on June 8, 2017, taking into consideration that the first match must be played before the second match day on June 13, 2017 to fulfil the match sequence principle, and the available FIFA Match Days in the AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017.”
