By Tony Mariadass
Thinking out of the box
There are several options the FA of Malaysia
can adopt to save the M-league from being totally cancelled this season because
of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The FA of Malaysia will be coming out with a
statement this week for the way forward for the M-League which has been
derailed by the pandemic.
While the cancellation of the M-League would
be the last option, but it has been underlined that the health and safety of
the players is more important than the game itself.
But with the Movement Control Order (MFO)
expected to prolong but probably with lesser restrictions, one area which the
Ministry of Health is strongly recommending is the ban on inter-state or
boundary crossing.
If this rule comes into effect, it will
virtually cripple the M-League which will not allow teams to travel for their
matches.
The inter-state travel ban which is expected to be implemented for at
least six months if started from May, will end in September.
So one option FAM or the Malaysian Football League (MFL), can consider
is to seek for special permission from the authorities to bring all teams to a
central location – say Kuala Lumpur – and place them in separate hotels with
strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to the Covid 19 observed.
But before that all players, coaches, their staff and team officials,
will have to undergo the Covid 19 tests and be cleared before they can travel.
Then they can be transported from one ‘Clean Area’ to another ‘Clean
Area’ and constantly monitored from time to time. Adopt the present quarantine
rules observed by Hotels which is used for quarantine passengers coming from
overseas.
Organise a month long league to complete the M-League fixtures (but only
one match instead of two – home and away format), to be played in empty
stadiums and streamed live to the fans.
This way the players will still be employed and the fans still can get
their dose of football.
Presently teams have played four games each which leaves 18 more matches
if played home and away.
If the carnival format and centralising the teams does not get the
approval of the authorities, then the best option is if cancel the M-League and
concentrate of the Malaysia Cup.
The Malaysia Cup can be played on a knockout system in October and
complete the FA Cup fixtures too.
Discuss with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and seek their
approval to allow the FA and Malaysia Cup winners to qualify for AFC tournaments
next year.
Under this format, May to August can be considered as off season.
The other option would be to resume the M-League in October and run into
2021 like the English Premier League which runs over two years.
Of course the off-season in May to August will raise questions with
salaries of players and coaches, which needs to be discussed and resolved.
It is definitely better than the league being cancelled and players and
coaches out jobs.
Food for thought. Over to you FAM and MFL.
Ends.
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