On Thursday night, FAM posted up a congratulatory message after Malaysia beat Australia 3-0 in the AFF U15 Championship in Chonburi, Thailand earlier in the day. It was a result which propelled Malaysia to the top of Group B and now stand a good chance to reach the latter stages of the competition.
However the message also included insinuation that the success was down to the Malaysia Football DNA that was only launched by FAM in early July, a notion that seemed to have struck plenty of nerves as it looked like the governing body was trying to claim that the success was only down to their plans.
The post received plenty of online criticism and has since been taken down. That said, while the headline was very suggestive, the content within the story seemed to suggest that FAM were happy that the characteristics outlined in the DNA were used to good effect during that win over Australia.
General secretary of FAM, Stuart Ramalingam released the following message today, apologising for the earlier post and explained what their initial statement were supposed to mean.
"The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) would like to apologise today on the statement which was released on our official facebook page last night. It was not FAM's intention to take credit or claim the success of the national U-15 squad as P Maniam’s boys beat Australia 3-0 in the third Group B match of the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship in Chonburi, Thailand, yesterday evening as a direct result of the Malaysian Football DNA which was just launched by FAM on 9th July.
"The actual intention of the statement was that the success and good progress shown by the national U-15 squad which started with the 2019 Jockey Club International Youth Championship in Hong Kong last April followed by being crowned champions of the CFA Team China International Youth Football Tournament Haikou 2019, last month and currently the good form displayed in the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship shows that they are on the right track and in line with what is inscribed in the Malaysian Football DNA.
"To put it all in perspective, the National Football Development Program (NFDP) is a project jointly implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), FAM and the National Sports Council (MSN) through a new collaboration since December 2018.
"We are pleased to see that this partnership has begun to bear fruit and achievements of the national youth teams as is seen in the national U-15 squad clearly shows that this project is going well and smoothly.
"FAM would also like to take the opportunity to thank the NFDP staff and the Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (AMD) in Gambang, Pahang because without their unwavering support and efforts, the players of the national U-15 squad would not be in the best conditions to execute the gameplay and strategies in line with the newly launched Malaysian Football DNA.
"The statement posted on our official facebook page last night has also been deleted.
"Therefore, I hope that we do not keep arguing when it comes to taking credit or 'claim'. Instead, let’s give our full support and pray for the U-15 squad to continue their good run in the remaining two Group B matches - against Laos tomorrow and host, Thailand on Monday to qualify for the semi-finals and advance to the final of the tournament."
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