KUALA LUMPUR – National football team coach Kim Pan-gon is hoping that the World Cup qualifying game against Kyrgyzstan next month will be played at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
He said in a statement released today that the national stadium is the home of Harimau Malaya.
“The fans and the players are familiar with the atmosphere in this stadium; it’s our fortress.
“It would be best, and my great hope is that our first match in the World Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan will still be able to be played at the national stadium on November 16,” he said.
The South Korean added that the location of the stadium in the Klang Valley will “better accommodate the attendance of our supporters”.
This will also shorten the time it takes the team to travel to a venue on the outskirts of Klang Valley.
Pan-gon added that the Football Association of Malaysia and the Malaysia Stadium Corporation assessed the field at the national stadium yesterday.
“We found that the condition of the field has improved during the Merdeka Tournament.
“Technically, the national stadium’s field will definitely be better in the coming weeks. “Although it is not 100%, it would be enough for us to play on a better surface than before.
“After all, we will only play against Kyrgyzstan here before going off to Chinese Taipei for the second match on November 21,” he said.
Last month, Malaysia Stadium Corp chairman Datuk Hans Isaac told Scoop the pitch would be ready for the World Cup qualifying game. – November 3, 2023