Malaysian Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee is losing patience with the Syrian FA.
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) had written to their Syrian counterparts three weeks ago requesting permission to hold their Asian Zone qualifying match against Syria in Kuala Lumpur a day later on Nov 24.
Kim Swee said time was running out for him to plan his strategies ahead of the match and the SEA Games in Indonesia.
“I just can’t seem to get this problem off my head because if we do not get Syria’s permission to resolve this issue – the clash of dates between the Asian qualifiers and the SEA Games football competition – then we are in big trouble,” he said yesterday.
Kim Swee, who handles the Harimau Muda A team, has been given the mandate to take charge of both assignments – the Olympic qualifiers and SEA Games.
The SEA Games football matches will kick off on Nov 7 and the final is on Nov 22. Malaysia’s campaign in the Olympic qualifiers begins with an away match against Japan on Sept 21, followed by two home matches against Syria (Nov 23) and Bahrain (Nov 27).
Malaysia, who won the SEA Games gold medal after a lapse of 20 years in 2009, will start as the favourites in Indonesia.
Should they qualify for the final on Nov 22, there is no way they can play the Olympic qualifying match against Syria in Kuala Lumpur the next day.
Under FIFA’s competition rules, players must have at least 48 hours of rest after an international game.
If Syria turn down the request, FAM will have to find other options, including placing an Under-23 B team and a coach on standby for their SEA Games campaign in Indonesia.
Last night, Kim Swee’s boys drew 0-0 with Iraqi Premier League side Arbil SC in a friendly match at the Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya.
Malaysia will have one more warm-up match against their counterparts from Oman on Wednesday before leaving for Fukuoka on Nov 16.
Expectations are high on Kim Swee’s boys to qualify for the SEA Games final although not much is expected of them in the Olympic qualifiers.
His men beat Pakistan 2-0 on aggregate and Lebanon 2-1 on aggregate in the opening two rounds to qualify for the final round of last 12, where the teams will be divided into three groups of four teams each.
The three group winners of the final round, to be played from Sept 21-March 14, will qualify for the London Olympics.
Since Asia has 3.5 slots for the London Games, the second-placed teams will play off at a centralised venue from March 25-29 and the winner will face an African side for a place in the Olympics.
For the record, Malaysia have only qualified for the Olympics twice – in 1972 (Munich) and 1980 (Moscow).
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