Malaysia coach Kim Pan-gon speak to the media after the match with Kyrgyzstan’s during the World Cup 2026 qualifiers match at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur.— MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s football head coach Kim Pan-gon isn’t leaving anytime soon.
Despite Harimau Malaya’s failure to enter the World Cup 2026 third-round qualifiers, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) do not intend on showing Pan-gon the door.
Malaysia ended their qualifying campaign in third place in Group D, behind leaders Oman and Kyrgyzstan.
The South Korean gaffer still has a contract with the governing body until next year, and FAM deputy president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi said they would not cut short his time here in Malaysia.
“As of now, there hasn’t been any discussion with the national team committee about Pan-gon leaving. We will honour his contract until the end of next year,” said Yusoff.
“We will review his status when the time comes,” he said after the FAM executive council meeting yesterday.
Pan-gon will still lead the team for the 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifiers and the AFF Cup if FAM decide to send the senior team and not the Under-21 squad in November.
At the same time, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said Pan-gon and the coaching staff were responsible in identifying heritage players.
“For the selection of heritage players, we leave that to the head coach and his team to make the assessments,” said Noor Azman.
“Once they have identified the player, they will reach out to FAM and we will take the next steps needed.”
He added that the Harimau Malaya are expected to play against top-ranked teams during the Merdeka Tournament this year, either in September or October.
“The four teams invited will be of good calibre and teams preparing for the Asian Cup,” he said,
Based on the current rankings, Group 1 consists of Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Lebanon, and India, while Group 2 has Malaysia, the Philippines, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Singapore and Yemen.
Yusoff added that Malaysia will likely play friendly matches with teams from Group 1 and 2 during the international match window in October.
