Tag: Harimau Malaya

FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: Tough draw for Harimau Malaya – Cheng Hoe

FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: Tough draw for Harimau Malaya - Cheng Hoe

SEPANG, JULY 30 — Harimau Malaya interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe admitted that the draw for the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia from Sept 24 to Oct 3 has put Malaysia on a difficult path. He said Malaysia would face stiff competition as the teams in Group A of Division 1, namely […]

Harimau Malaya Up To 136th In FIFA World Rankings After Two-place Rise

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 -- Malaysia’s Harimau Malaya football team has climbed to 136th place in the latest world rankings issued by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). In the latest update today, the national team has collected 1,086.22 points, moving up two places from their previous position of 138th in the world. The rise was driven by results involving other teams, including India and Latvia, as Malaysia did not play during the international window. Thailand remains Southeast Asia’s top-ranked team at 94th, ahead of Vietnam (99), Indonesia (118), the Philippines (135) and Singapore (148). Japan holds its position as Asia’s top-ranked side at 18th in the world, followed by Iran in 20th and South Korea in 25th. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Malaysia’s Harimau Malaya football team has climbed to 136th place in the latest world rankings issued by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). In the latest update today, the national team has collected 1,086.22 points, moving up two places from their previous position of 138th in the world. The rise […]

AFC recommends Harimau Malaya management be returned to FAM

PETALING JAYA: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has proposed that the management of the Harimau Malaya squad be fully returned to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as part of the reform recommendations resulting from an audit of the country's football governing body. AFC Secretary-General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said the proposal was included in the recommendations submitted to FAM through the governance audit presented at the FAM Extraordinary Congress (EGM) here today. He said the proposal aims to ensure that the management of the national team is under a clear administrative structure through the FAM national team committee. "Back to FAM. The national team committee has to manage, meaning FAM has to manage, just like before," he said when met by reporters at the FAM EGM here today. Previously, the management of the national team went through a restructuring process, which saw the involvement of professional management with Rob Friend appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Harimau Malaya to help strengthen the operations and development of the national squad. Earlier, the AFC presented an audit report on the administration of FAM which also formed the basis for the proposed amendment to the statute to strengthen the governance of the country's football governing body. The AFC's proposed statute amendment was then unanimously approved by the FAM affiliate members. Among the main proposals are the abolition of the position of Deputy President, reducing the number of Vice Presidents to three, and restructuring the FAM Executive Committee (Exco). The audit report also found that most aspects of FAM's operations were at Level 2 (Pre-Intermediate), thus showing that there is still room for improvement in various areas of organizational administration and management. The assessment covers 11 key areas including governance and legal, administration, finance, human resources, infrastructure, communications, marketing, commercial development, advocacy, competition and performance development. -- BERNAMA

PETALING JAYA: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has proposed that the management of the Harimau Malaya squad be fully returned to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as part of the reform recommendations resulting from an audit of the country’s football governing body. AFC Secretary-General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said the proposal was included […]

Malaysia drops 17 places to 138th in the world

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's position has plummeted from 121st to 138th in the world in the latest rankings released by the International Football Federation (FIFA). Based on today's latest update, Harimau Malaya, who collected 1,086.22 total points, fell 17 places following a 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in the final Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, yesterday. The sudden decline was also influenced by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decision to cancel Harimau Malaya's two matches in the previous qualifying campaign against Nepal and Vietnam. Based on the original results, Malaysia beat Nepal 2-0 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on March 25 last year, in addition to thrashing Vietnam 4-0 at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, on June 10 last year. However, on March 17, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee decided that Malaysia would be declared a 0-3 loser for both matches after Harimau Malaya were found to have fielded ineligible players. The move was made following the document falsification issue involving seven Harimau Malaya players, namely Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s position has plummeted from 121st to 138th in the world in the latest rankings released by the International Football Federation (FIFA). Based on today’s latest update, Harimau Malaya, who collected 1,086.22 total points, fell 17 places following a 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in the final Group F match of the 2027 […]

Harimau Malaya’s ranking falls, Cklamovski remains optimistic

KUALA LUMPUR: The Harimau Malaya squad's 14-place drop in rankings to 135th in the world has been described as a huge blow to head coach Peter Cklamovski. However, the Australian coach stressed that his squad remained positive despite the controversy that has engulfed the Malaysian football arena, and believed that efforts to break into the world's top 100 were still on the right track. He said everything within the team's control had been implemented well, including training aspects, playing style and tactical analysis, while describing external obstacles as temporary challenges that needed to be overcome. "Of course, in the last 12 months, we've been on the right track. The way we train, the way we play, the way we analyse opponents, the way we evaluate games, and how we can continue to develop football has been implemented well. "Things off the field have affected us, it's just a temporary setback, but for me, every great story has a negative aspect, and we need to take it as a lesson," he said when met ahead of the final Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam here yesterday. Cklamovski said time would be the deciding factor in realising this wish after taking over Harimau Malaya in 2024. Yesterday, the International Football Federation (FIFA) released the latest rankings for Harimau Malaya, which fell 14 places to 135th in the world with 1,095.90 points. The significant drop was due to the heavy punishment imposed by FIFA following the issue of document forgery involving seven players with illegal heritage. Earlier, FIFA annulled the results of three friendly matches against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine by awarding a 0-3 free victory to the opposing team. The situation became worse when the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also took similar action against two 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers matches against Vietnam and Nepal, which also used the services of the players involved. The AFC's decision declaring Malaysia to have lost 0-3 in the match not only took away the country's ranking points, but also confirmed the failure of Harimau Malaya to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

KUALA LUMPUR — The Harimau Malaya squad’s 14-place drop in rankings to 135th in the world has been described as a huge blow to head coach Peter Cklamovski. However, the Australian coach stressed that his squad remained positive despite the controversy that has engulfed the Malaysian football arena, and believed that efforts to break into […]

Harimau Malaya To Give Their Best In Match Against Vietnam.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Their 2027 Asian Cup qualification hopes may be over, but Harimau Malaya remain undeterred. Harimau Malaya chief executive officer Rob Friend said they will now head to Hanoi for the last Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers third round against Vietnam on March 31 with intent. “Our attention is fully focused on preparation for the upcoming match against Vietnam, where the team will compete with the same belief, resilience, and discipline that the team has displayed throughout 2025,” he said in a statement today. Malaysia were unbeaten across all eight competitive matches throughout last year including outplaying Vietnam 4-0 at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, here on June 10. Friend said they acknowledged the decision issued by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee regarding the points deduction for Malaysia. “We respect the regulatory processes of the competition. At the same time, this matter is currently being reviewed through the appropriate legal channels. “Throughout this period, our priority remains clear to support our players and staff, and to ensure they are in the best possible position to represent Malaysia with professionalism, unity, and pride,” he said. The Canadian also took the opportunity to thank supporters for their continued belief in the team despite the heritage players controversy that rocked Malaysian football previously. On Tuesday, Malaysia were declared to have lost 3-0 to Nepal and Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying matches after the AFC ruled that Harimau Malaya had fielded ineligible players in those games. Following the penalty, Harimau Malaya have accumulated only nine points in the qualifiers and lost their spot in the 2027 Asian Cup. Before the decision, Malaysia led the group with 15 points, followed by Vietnam with 12, Laos with three, and Nepal without any points. Even if Malaysia defeat Vietnam in the final group match on March 31, it would still not be enough for the national squad to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, as they would have only 12 points, while Vietnam would top the group with 15. Only the top team in the group qualifies for the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia from Jan 7 to Feb 5. AFC had opened an investigation into Football Association of Malaysia over alleged document falsification involving seven heritage players, who had earlier been suspended by International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in September over the same allegations. The seven players are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

KUALA LUMPUR — Their 2027 Asian Cup qualification hopes may be over, but Harimau Malaya remain undeterred. Harimau Malaya chief executive officer Rob Friend said they will now head to Hanoi for the last Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers third round against Vietnam on March 31 with intent. “Our attention is fully focused on […]