PETALING JAYA – National football under-16 manager Christopher Raj has pledged to arrange more friendly matches to prepare his team for the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The qualifiers, set to determine the participating teams for the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, will see Malaysia grouped with Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon.
Christopher’s commitment follows criticism directed at his management for not providing enough international exposure over the past year.
The national under-16 team last competed in the U17 Asian Cup 2023 in Thailand.
Only the Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) under-16 players had game time this year, facing Gamba Osaka Youth in January, where the AMD under-16 side lost 10-0.
Christopher, who also chairs the Communications and Media Committee of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), explained that the recent lack of friendly matches was due to the management’s focus on finding the right players for the upcoming AFF U16 Boys’ Championship.
Under newly appointed head coach Javier Jorda Ribera, Malaysia are drawn in Group C alongside Thailand, East Timor, and Australia for the 19th edition of the tournament in Surakarta, Indonesia, from June 21 to July 4.
“The previous batch of AMD players graduated and returned to their states and clubs, so we were looking for new players to come through the system.
“We were also waiting for the Piala Belia to take place, and players were evaluated based on the opening six games, while the current batch of AMD players travelled to Japan and had their game time.
“With the assembled players, we managed to have short centralised training sessions in three phases. We are now preparing for matches for the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, and I’m getting in touch with the teams.
“We didn’t want to play against teams in the same group, but for now, I can assure you that we will be taking on Bahrain in two friendly matches.
“We also received information from Oman, as they are going to play in Singapore and, on the way, will come and play in Malaysia as well,” said Christopher at the U16 players and coaches introduction session today.
Christopher also admitted that he would consider himself a failure if his side failed to reach the final round of the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
“More arrangements are being made by the FAM secretariat to ensure we get more friendly matches.
“Our key objective is to do well in the AFF U16 Boys’ Championship, but my personal target is to bring the team to the final rounds of the Asian Cup.
“If we don’t qualify, I’m not shy to say that it will be a personal failure for me,” he added.
Scouting for more talents
Meanwhile, national under-16 head coach Ribera, formerly the youth coach and academy manager of Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), expressed readiness to integrate more players from various states and clubs.
Since joining in May, the Spaniard selected 23 players from 161 candidates across states and clubs, with his squad primarily consisting of AMD and JDT players.
“Of course, I’m going to take it as a challenge to bring in non-AMD and JDT players.
“At the end of the day, it’s not only about AMD and JDT, as I will be heading to all the states and clubs to scout for more talents.
“I have been in the country for many years and have coached at different levels. I will be focusing on players from the U14 and U15 age groups as my priority.
“I consider myself Malaysian and I have never looked at myself as a foreigner. I clearly understand the pulse of our local players.
“I don’t need to prove myself to anyone, as my track record speaks for itself. My success is evident based on what I have done and created at the JDT academy,” Ribera said.
In the previous AFF tournament, also held in Indonesia, the U16 squad were eliminated in the group stage. – June 19, 2024