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Saturday May 12, 2007

Abdullah wants EPL champs tour to go ahead

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister wants the Manchester United tour here to kick off as scheduled and hopes that the organisers or any other parties will not call it off.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the football giants who had just won the English Premier League had many fans in Malaysia and the region.

“If United plays in KL, it will attract their supporters from Singapore, Thailand and other countries to come and watch. This is also the Government's intention in line with the Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign.

“We know that they are a great team and will be a huge attraction for football fans,” he told reporters after Umno's 61st anniversary celebrations.

In a reaction hours later, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said he remained hopeful that a deal could be struck to enable the team to play a friendly against a Malaysian XI despite objections from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

“Obviously there has been a lot of movement the last few days. At this moment we are in discussions.

“We want to go to Malaysia; we have made arrangements for that. But if there is a dramatic change we will have to rearrange our schedule,” AFP reported Ferguson as saying at Old Trafford.

On Tuesday, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) asked the organisers of the Red Devils' tour to cancel a match against a Malaysian selection scheduled for July 27.

FAM said it was acting on instructions from the AFC because the match would clash with the Asian Cup Finals from July 7 to July 29. AFC and FAM had signed a deal in 2004 to bar any other football event during the Asian Cup Finals.

A day earlier, AFC president Mohamed Hammam accused United of being “disrespectful” and “unethical” by organising a pre-season tour that clashed with the Asian Cup Finals.

The Red Devils are also scheduled to play against J-League champions Urawa Reds in Japan on July 17, FC Seoul in South Korea on July 20 and China's Shenzhen FC in Macau on July 23. Malaysia was to have been the last leg of their Asian tour.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Said has since appealed to the AFC to reconsider its decision not to sanction the friendly between United and the Malaysian selection.

She said Malaysia respected AFC's position but felt that the confederation could have shown a little more compassion because the tour was part of the country's 50th Independence celebrations and Visit Malaysia 2007.

FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah thanked the Prime Minister for his statement of support.

“But I cannot say anything more for now. We will make it clear to all in an official statement at a press conference on Monday,” he said.

Support also came from DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who has been an ardent fan of the English football club for 35 years.

“United should definitely be allowed to play so that Malaysians can learn from the team's spirit and determination,” he said.

“It doesn't have to be just United. Even if it were Arsenal or Liverpool, they should be allowed to come. We have to stop being jaguh kampung as our football has long been left behind.”

Related Story:
They want Man Utd in KL

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