Malaysia PM insists Man Utd fixture will go ahead
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KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia will defy the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and host Manchester United in July, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi insisted on Friday. The AFC had angered Malaysians earlier this week by ruling out a United friendly tour match in Malaysia because it would clash with its flagship tournament, the July 7-29 Asian Cup.
Banking on their huge fan base in Asia, United had been due to play in Kuala Lumpur against a Malaysian select team on July 27, two days before the Asian Cup final in Jakarta. The match had looked to be off when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) bowed to AFC pressure and said United were no longer welcome.
However, the Malaysian Prime Minister joined in the fray on Friday, telling reporters the game would go ahead as scheduled. "We want them to visit Malaysia because this year is Visit Malaysia Year... if Manchester United play in Kuala Lumpur, there will be a lot of Manchester United fans around this region, including from Singapore and Thailand, coming here." "We hope the organisers will not cancel the game. This is the wish of the government as part of Visit Malaysia Year," he said. AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam has accused United of being disrespectful by organising a pre-season tour which clashed with the Asian Cup.
The AFC and its Malaysian affiliate had signed a deal last year in which the Malaysians were barred from promoting any other soccer event in July. United chief executive David Gill said this week he was "sad and disappointed" that his team were not welcome in Malaysia. The Hong Kong-based promoter of the United tour, which also includes matches in Japan, South Korea and Macau, had expressed confidence the Malaysian part of the programme would continue. "All four legs will go ahead as planned," said Paul Kam, chairman of ProEvents Management Ltd. "There is a lot of speculation going on, but everything will be resolved soon."
United kick off their pre-season tour against J-League champions Urawa Reds in Saitama on July 17 before travelling to South Korea to play FC Seoul on July 20. They play China's Shenzhen FC in Macau on July 23 and were planning to finish with a match in Kuala Lumpur on July 27. The Asian Cup runs from July 7 to 29 and is being hosted by Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Japan have won the last two Asian Cups, in Lebanon in 2000 and in China in 2004 when they defeated the hosts 3-1 in the final. -
omfg
afc president got owned by the malaysian PM -
why dowan come here!Originally posted by allentyb:
omfg
afc president got owned by the malaysian PM -
AFC president is worth nothing compared to a Prime Minister la.
Good move by the PM. Its his country, why bother about FIFA or AFC. -
ask tiger beer to organise one lorOriginally posted by sand king:why dowan come here! -
*sigh.
Let's hope the players stays fresh ahead of next season.
Cheers.
CK -
Man u have a powerful fan like Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
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How? i dun drink tiger beer.Originally posted by allentyb:ask tiger beer to organise one lor
Dun tell me... lky is Chelsea fan?Originally posted by zocoss:Man u have a powerful fan like Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
yea, focus on EPL!Originally posted by CKeer:*sigh.
Let's hope the players stays fresh ahead of next season.
Cheers.
CK -
location wise, its more feasible for United to play in Malaysia than Singapore, larger fan base and besides it is still alot better for other regional fans to gather and watch the United match, cheaper accomodation, transport..etc..
and its no surprise that Malaysian Government is sticking their nose into this affair.. they probably watch more EPL than their Malaysian league.. -
anyone wants to go for the match if they come to malaysia?
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The ongoing saga of Manchester United's proposed tour of Asia continued on Monday with Malaysia's Tourism Minister insisting the clash with a Malaysian Select side on July 27 has not been cancelled. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have put pressure on Tourism Malaysia to reschedule the Premiership champions' tour to ensure it does not clash with the Asian Cup, which takes place from July 7-29.
And on Friday, United chief executive David Gill sent a letter to the Malaysian tourism authority expressing his disappointment that their game in Kuala Lumpur would no longer go ahead. But Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has refuted claims they have cancelled the tour, instead insisting United remain welcome in Malaysia. "The truth is we never did," he told Malaysia news agency Bernama. "How could we not allow them to come here?
"It is their summer holiday programme and one of the countries they will stop at is Malaysia because Tourism Malaysia and AirAsia are among the sponsors of the Manchester United games this season. "I was shocked (by the news that United may have to cancel their trip). The AFC's view is too narrow. He (AFC president Mohammed Hammam) said Manchester United should not come to Malaysia since the Asian Cup would be on.
"Manchester United's presence in Malaysia is not a problem, so the AFC should let the fans meet their favourite players as this is one way to develop Malaysian football." Adnan plans to meet with the Football Association of Malaysia and other parties on the matter and insists a change of venue to another city in Malaysia would not be a problem if it would help the tour to go ahead. He continued: "Manchester United can come and if necessary, we can ask them to play in another place like Penang, Langkawi, Sabah or Johor Baharu instead of Kuala Lumpur." -
i wouldn;t be surprised if the PM goes to watch the United match and skips the AFC Final..
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eh? the PM is a manchester united fan?
haha, good move by the PM. maybe the malaysian players can learn something from man utd.
too bad the newly crowned EPL champion cant get to play with the South East Asian champion (Singapore)
otherwise it would be a gd catch 
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AFC got owned by Malaysia PM Badawi
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Ya indra and Noh alam shah would owned Man U.Originally posted by hiphop2009:eh? the PM is a manchester united fan?
haha, good move by the PM. maybe the malaysian players can learn something from man utd.
too bad the newly crowned EPL champion cant get to play with the South East Asian champion (Singapore) otherwise it would be a gd catch -
Originally posted by manutdsg:Ya indra and Noh alam shah would owned Man U.
I seriously doubt so.... -
Originally posted by 4getmenot:i wouldn;t be surprised if the PM goes to watch the United match and skips the AFC Final..
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lol...dey probably will have a hard time trying to outwit ferdinand and the defence gang. shi jia yi, sharil ishak, itimi dickson versus giggs, carrick, scholes.Originally posted by manutdsg:Ya indra and Noh alam shah would owned Man U.
And meanwhile u will also see daniel bennett and aide iskander trying to catch cristiano ronaldo and wanye rooney. LOL. and dun forget van der sa and lionel lewis, who will compete to see who can save more shots -
Club statement on Malaysia match
Manchester United has had a series of meetings today with the Malaysian Youth and Sports Ministry, The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) concerning the planned match in Kuala Lumpur on 27 July 2007.
This match is a key element of the Malaysian GovernmentÂ’s celebrations of its 50 years of independence and presents a marvellous opportunity for us to play in front of our many Malaysian fans.
Unfortunately new information has come to the ClubÂ’s attention today concerning the FAMÂ’s agreement with the AFC to act as host for the Asian Cup, which means the Club cannot play the game without the official approval of the AFC.
The Club hopes that the issues can be resolved by the relevant parties to ensure that this celebration match can take place as planned.
A further announcement will be made in due course. -
I saw on CNA this morning that the match will go ahead.
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Actually this is a very shrewd move to buy popularity votes in his future elections ... He foreseen this to be a very popular move ...Furthermore this is a pretty good move to increase tourism and bring in more revenue...
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I don't understand the big fuss...
why is the AFC so worried about attendance and fans considering MUFC is only going to play one game???
if the fans are really interested in AFC, why would one game with MUFC deter their interests?? -
Don't forget, Indra has scored against Man Utd before.Originally posted by hiphop2009:lol...dey probably will have a hard time trying to outwit ferdinand and the defence gang. shi jia yi, sharil ishak, itimi dickson versus giggs, carrick, scholes.
And meanwhile u will also see daniel bennett and aide iskander trying to catch cristiano ronaldo and wanye rooney. LOL. and dun forget van der sa and lionel lewis, who will compete to see who can save more shots
These two are not going to be players that the Man Utd defence can switch off for. -
I think that was because Utd was super super relaxed and slow loh. I still remembered they were so amused when Indra scored and started taking off his shirt and running round the pitch. Then after that, they went for the kill and scored goal after goal....Originally posted by LazerLordz:Don't forget, Indra has scored against Man Utd before.
These two are not going to be players that the Man Utd defence can switch off for. -
What was the score the last time Man utd visited sg?