Malaysia Under-23 head coach Ong Kim Swee was forced to cancel the team training on Thursday as only six out of 26 players were present for training.
With the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has decided against rescheduling the Malaysia Super League (MSL) and Malaysia Cup matches, which run simultaneously, clubs are hesitant to release their best players for the camp.
Those who turned up were Selangor’s Syahmi Safari and Adam Nor Azlin, Terengganu’s Amierul Hakimi Awang, Felda United’s Danial Amier Norhisham, Kuala Lumpur’s Irfan Zakaria, and Perak’s Ahmad Khairil Anuar Zamri. Only a pool recovery session was conducted at the hotel.
As quoted by The New Straits Times, Kim Swee said he has never had only six players reporting for training since he became a coach.
“The target for the Under-23 Qualifiers is still the same. We will try to qualify for the tournament proper next year despite the issues,” said the coach.