KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has confirmed that its national futsal team will be competing in next year’s SEA Games, scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand.
The governing body’s response comes after national futsal head coach Rakphol Sainetngam previously told Scoop that he had yet to receive an update from the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and FAM on whether his team would be able to compete in the SEA Games.
The 45-year-old coach also said that participating in the biennial multi-sport event will be a boost for the country’s preparation for the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup, especially after missing out this year.
Rakphol, who is under a two-year contract with FAM, replaced Chiew Chun Yong last year and is highly rated in the Thailand Futsal League.
Rakphol was named the best futsal coach in the Thai League from 2010 to 2017 and also coached in Indonesia, where he guided Indonesia’s Black Steel FC to the AFF Futsal Club Championship crown in Korat last year.
For the record, futsal was not played in the 2023 Phnom Penh edition of the SEA Games, and its inclusion in next year’s edition in Bangkok was just recently confirmed by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
Speaking to Scoop, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said that the head coach (Rakphol) was informed last week about his team’s participation, and the coach has already begun scouting his best players based on the ongoing Malaysian Premier Futsal League (MPFL).
“We just received the update from OCM recently, and we have already started our preparations for the games. Except for the previous edition, we have never failed to compete in the futsal event in the SEA Games since it was introduced.
“We don’t blame OCM for the late update, as it’s actually a norm for them to update us at the last minute as they need to double-check with the Sports Authority of the tournament hosts.
“The MPFL has been going well over the past few months, and the coach has also been working diligently to find the right players for the team. We are also in the midst of arranging some friendly matches against some top teams for his side.
“As usual, we hope to give our best in next year’s tournament and hopefully win a gold medal. It’s not going to be easy, but we have full trust in coach Rakphol. He’s one of the most accomplished coaches in the region, and we know that he will deliver,” said Azman when contacted.
Malaysia’s men’s futsal team is ranked number 77 in the world out of 139 countries.
Malaysia has won a total of four medals in both the men’s (two silvers) and women’s (two bronze) categories at the SEA Games since futsal made its debut at the games in 2007.
Thailand is the futsal defending champion of the SEA Games, as they defeated Vietnam 2-0 in the final to clinch the gold in 2021. Malaysia’s Ekmal Shahrin was the top scorer with four goals. – August 4, 2024