Kuala lumpur: The national football squad has decided to withdraw from participating in the 2025 Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup, which will be held from August 29 to September 8.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced in a statement that the decision was made following a change in match dates, which now fall outside the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) international window. This adjustment poses challenges concerning logistics, player availability, and overall squad preparation.

"The last-minute change of date poses a challenge to the national squad in all aspects, as clubs are not obliged to release their players," stated FAM. "This situation directly affects our efforts to form the best squad for the tournament, especially when some of our key players are playing in major leagues such as Spain, Argentina, Colombia, and Japan."

Meanwhile, Harimau Malaya head coach Peter Cklamovski described the decision to withdraw from the CAFA Nations Cup as the right one. He emphasized that the Harimau Malaya squad will focus fully on the training camp ahead of the important matches against Laos and Nepal in October and November.

"We have players who are playing in the world's leading leagues such as Spain, Argentina, Colombia, and Japan. To get them to Tajikistan in such a short time and ensure they are ready to perform at the highest level is unrealistic in this window," Cklamovski said.

The Harimau Malaya squad is scheduled to meet Laos for a Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Laos on October 9, before hosting Laos on October 14. The national squad will then fly to Nepal for another group stage match on November 18.