Malaysia Under-19 coach, Hassan Sazali Waras admits that the youth players in Malaysia need a professional competitive league in order to improve their performances.
The Under 19 side which consist of players from Harimau Muda C, Frenz United and M-League sides, got knocked out of the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers, after finishing third in the Group I, losing 6-0 to China and 1-0 to North Korea with only one victory registered; a 4-1 win against Macau.
Hassan said the young players need a lot more exposure in order to compete on the international level.
“Our young players need a competitive league if we want to compete at the highest level,” he told Arena Metro.
“We need to look into our own youth system. If the President Cup and Youth Cup becomes more competitive and provides a bigger pool; we can produce plenty of quality players from the league.
“Our young players should also go abroad. Look at China. They have players who trained with big European clubs, especially in Spain. In fact, there are five of them who currently play in Europe,” he added.
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