Skip to main content

Malaysia's drop in FIFA world ranking from 153 to 164 alarming - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA, April 14 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin did not mice his words when informed that Malaysia has dropped from 153rd to an alarming 164th in the FIFA World ranking list within a period of two months.

The National team's current FIFA ranking does not make sense, because in February, Malaysia were in 153rd position.

Khairy said Malaysia's position in the FIFA ranking list defies logic because Malaysia are ranked lower than some Asean countries although the squad under Dollah Salleh were able to reach at least the semifinal or final in the SEA Games or the AFF Suzuki Cup.

"We can't say Malaysia are the worst ranked country in Asean but rankings are based on the kind of tournaments chosen to play. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has its own plans.

"Maybe the tournaments chosen by the FAM are tough tournaments that resulted in losses and affected the ranking. FAM had clarified that choosing better teams to play against was intentional, so that the players can gain exposure and experience," he told reporters, here today.

Khairy said the current focus for the country was however, not the ranking but rather the achievement at major events like the SEA Games, AFF Suzuki Cup and AFC Cup.

Malaysia's 0-6 loss to Oman in an international friendly on March 26, saw the country's position drop 11 places, the worst recorded this year, since it put Malaysia on par with Bhutan (163), Grenada (165), Puerto Rico (166), Hong Kong and Bangladesh (167).

-- BERNAMA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uber Cub: Malaysian squad Can Spring A Surprise - Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek remains confident that the national Uber Cup squad can spring a surprise when Malaysia hosts the Thomas and Uber Cup finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16. He said despite not being the favourite, the women's team was able to surprise everyone by winning the gold medal at the Laos SEA Games. "I am confident they (Uber Cup team) will be able to produce a similar surprise. Not only are they capable of reaching the semi-final, they can go further," he told reporters after having lunch with national shuttlers here Thursday. National badminton Team manager Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Abdullah who echoed the minister's confidence said: "In Laos, nobody expected the women's team to win the world, so why not the Uber Cup? All they need to do is try their very best." Women's team captain Wong Pei Tty said she and her team-mates have set a target of r...
1 comment
Read more

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more

Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’

Saya setuju. We are working on more coaches! “ @ManOlimpik : Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’ http://t.co/7D7wmHWaNy ” — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 10, 2014 The benchmark. Can our junior athletes train as hard as Malaysia's world No.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei? “IT IS okay lah. The training is not too bad lah. I will try lah … Wah, so hard lah today.” These are some of the common statements I hear from our juniors nowadays. It is not only in badminton. It is the easy-going, laid-back attitude and lack of competitiveness at grassroots level that we have problems producing quality players. I have travelled quite a bit. After ending my decade-long career with the national team, I went to play in the league in Europe. It’s different there. The European athletes know what they want. And they do it with real focus. Even the young ones possess admirable self-control and show a high level of commitment. During my time in the ...
12 comments
Read more