Off duty: Arif Aiman Hanapi (left) will not play in the national football team’s friendly against India in Hyderabad as he joins JDT in preparing for the AFC Champions League Elite match against Shandong Taishan in Jinan on Nov 26. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The request to release three Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) players from the Harimau Malaya squad is due to travel arrangements for the Southern Tigers’ upcoming AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) Group A match against Shandong Taishan in Jinan on Nov 26.
JDT chief executive officer Alistair Edwards said that JDT are scheduled to leave for China on Nov 21, the day after the players return from national team duty following the international friendly against India in Hyderabad on Monday (Nov 18).
“We reached an agreement with the Harimau Malaya set-up for goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi (Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed) to remain with the national team as the Southern Tigers have utilised Andoni Zubiaurre in the ACL Elite thus far.
“We are grateful to national team coach Pau Marti Vicente and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for supporting our cause in the ACL Elite and JDT will continue to support Malaysia’s attempt to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Edwards said JDT are taking the continent’s elite competition seriously after making big investments this season.
He said JDT hope that a successful campaign will not only elevate the status of the club in Asia but also improve Malaysia’s ranking in Asian club football which will inevitably benefit Malaysian football as more teams could play on Asia’s elite stage in the coming seasons.
Earlier yesterday, that FAM announced that three players – defenders Matthew Davies and Mohd Feroz Baharudin, and winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi – have been released from the squad ahead of the national team’s Tier 1 international friendly against India, thus leaving just 23 players in the team.
The FAM said that JDT made the request ahead of their Malaysia Cup first-round match against Kuala Lumpur Rovers FC on Wednesday (Nov 20).
Vicente’s men, who will take on India at the Gachibowli Stadium, are looking for another victory after their 3-1 win over Laos in another Tier 1 international friendly at the PAT Stadium in Bangkok last Thursday.
The matches against Laos and India this month are part of Vicente’s plans to prepare the team for the 2024 Asean Championship next month. — Bernama
