WORLD CUP BY 2022 FOR MALAYSIA

Dato’ Redzuan Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad, the deputy president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM) defended the decision in putting the target by saying that it is important for the national body to have a long-term ambition.

The announcement of the ‘Dream 2022′ was made at the opening ceremony of the Malaysian International Football Symposium and came at the back of the dismal performance of the Malaysian Under-23 team at the Asian Games in Qatar.

“There must be a target for any association to move forward otherwise we will be working in the dark,” said Dato’ Redzuan.

“The Japanese FA has set a target of 2050 for them to win the World Cup as their long-term achievement, so for us to put 2022 for the Malaysian team to play in the FIFA World Cup is reasonable.

“So through this symposium, it will represent the beginning of our work towards that goal where even though we might not be successful but at the very least we have set an ambition for us to work at.”

Dato’ Redzuan said that the hosting of the first ever Malaysian International Football Symposium was a milestone in Malaysian football and where it is hope that it will be organised every four years.

The symposium which is being attended by more than 200 participants comprising of technical officials, coaches and administrators will touched on several subjects over the next three days by speakers from FAM, FIFA and AFC.

There were also participants from Brunei as well as Australia.

“I hope that the participants will bring back what they have learned from the various speakers and use it in their daily work in football especially those who are involved in youth coaching,” added Dato’ Redzuan.