Ministry Youth and Sports (KBS) has confirmed that they will be monitoring the performances of the Malaysian national Under-23 team from time to time ahead of the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games in 2017.
The U-23 side will also be aided with the required budget for training and development, which will serve the purpose of boosting their preparations for the tournament.
According to Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, the gold medal in football would be a high priority, though focus will eventually be distributed evenly to other sports as well.
“KBS will monitor the U23 team closely. I’ve always repeated how it’s important to invest in the future. But this doesn’t mean that we’re only going to focus on the football team,” he told Kosmo.
“I know that people have always said that the entire contingent will be regarded as failure if the football team doesn’t win a gold medal. For me, that’s a bit unfair as it’s an insult to other athletes as well.
Despite winning the SEA Games gold medal in 2011, Malaysia suffered a frustrating semi-final exit at the 2013 SEA Games. Their decline deteriorated this year, as they failed to even progress beyond their group stage.
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