National players to get jabs soon

By Fadhli Ishak - April 15, 2021 @ 8:30am

THE national players can now head to the Middle East for friendly and pre-World Cup/Asian Cup matches with confidence as they will be receiving their Covid-19 vaccine jabs soon.

Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican confirmed that they will be receiving their first Pfizer-BioNTech shots on Monday.

"Yesterday (Tuesday), I was not able to guarantee them the vaccine, but today (yesterday), thanks to our continuous efforts, a total of 78 individuals comprising players, coaches, officials, including FA of Malaysia president (Datuk Hamidin Amin), will receive their vaccine on April 19 (Monday) in Putrajaya," said Reezal.

"This means that they will likely be able to complete it (two doses) before they leave on May 19." Earlier yesterday, FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam had voiced his concerns about the team competing abroad without being inoculated.

The national team will play Kuwait on May 23 and Bahrain five days later in friendly matches before heading to the United Arab Emirates for the pre-World Cup/Asian Cup in June. Tan Cheng Hoe's charges will take on the UAE on June 3, followed by Vietnam (June 11) and Thailand (June 15) in the pre-World Cup.