KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Teen sensation Luqman Hakim Shamsudin will still be called up to join the SEA Games training squad despite having been named for the senior Harimau Malaya centralised training camp, said Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) technical director Datuk Ong Kim Swee.
He said the 19-year-old striker and his teammates in the national Under-20 squad were in need of exposure as they had been set the target of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“I do not see this as being a major problem… Luqman’s presence will have more impact on the (SEA Games) team, especially since he is at the age where he will remain with the team for the foreseeable future,” he said after a meeting with the SEA Games Selection Committee at Wisma OCM today.
The KV Kortrijk player, who received his first senior call-up for the centralised training camp, which begins on Monday (March 22) in Johor Bahru, is undergoing compulsory quarantine after returning from Belgium last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kim Swee explained that the SEA Games squad, under coach Brad Maloney, would undergo training at the same time as the national senior squad during FIFA’s window for international matches.
He said that should they get permission from the National Security Council (NSC), then the team would also be sent overseas for quality friendly matches ahead of the SEA Games, which will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from November 21-December 2.
The former national coach also emphasised that the aim of sending a young squad to this year’s SEA Games was for exposure ahead of the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia and to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We have not set any targets (for this year’s SEA Games) as we are sending a young team. I believe that other teams, like hosts Vietnam, will be sending their strongest sides. We want our youngsters to achieve a medal in 2023, be it gold, silver or bronze,” he explained.
He said that the squad would comprise players from clubs like Johor Darul Ta’zim, Selangor FC and the FAM-NSC Project Squad, who are competing in the Premier League.
Commenting on the performance of the FAM-NSC Project Squad, who have lost all four of their Premier League matches thus far, Kim Swee said that what was important now was to give them exposure so that they would have a brighter chance when they join other clubs.
“Before setting up this project squad, we knew that these players are not the best Under-20 players that we have, but it is about giving them a second chance,” he said.
— Bernama
