MELAKA: Pahang foreign import and stalwart, Mohamadou Sumareh can join the Harimau Malaya squad at any given time, though it all depends on national coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) president, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, said that based on the procedures put in place by Fifa, any player who has lived in country for more than five years and holds that country’s passport can then join the national team of the said country.
"To be a national player (for other countries), one has to have a passport and lived in the country for more than five years before being considered for a call-up to the national team, that is if the coach wants the player in the first place,” said Hamidin after chairing FAM’s fifth executive committee meeting at the Hatten Hotel here earlier today.
Also present were Tengku Mahkota Johor (TMJ), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and FAM deputy president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi.
Mamadou Sumareh, 23, has plied his trade in the Malaysia League (M-League) since 2013 when he first turned out for Police, before he went on to represent Perlis and now turns out for Super League giants Pahang.
Hamidin said that a decision on such a matter which is still relatively new cannot be made easily.
"With regards to the matter of naturalised players, there is no concrete decision as yet because there will be a study conducted to be spearheaded by Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi who will be going to Brazil and Cameroon to see the pros and cons in detail.
"We will wait for the proposal first on whether to proceed or not. The proposal on the use of naturalised players is for the betterment of football, but then again it all depends on the government on whether to grant citizenship or not in the first place.
"My view is based solely on the football perspective and such an option is not wrong as it has been done by World Cup winners France,” stressed Hamidin.
At the same time, Hamidin said that they have set a realistic target of advancing to the second round for the Asian Games football competition next month for Ong Kim Swee’s Under-23 side.
"We know that we are in a group where all the big teams are, such as defending champions South Korea. We should have set a higher target to get to the last-16 stage and we will work hard towards it,” said Hamidin.
Apart from South Korea, Kim Swee’s boys have been drawn together with Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Despite such a tall order in terms of the target, Kim Swee’s squad have yet to receive any word on whether the players who have been called up for the Games will be released by their respective clubs to take part in centralised training.
However, Hamidin wants all parties to remain calm and wait till next Monday when the players who have been called up report in.
"According to our circular, the players will report in on Monday so we will wait and see till then. After coming in for centralised training, the players will leave for China and then go straight to Indonesia for the Asian Games,” he said.
The team’s opening match will be on August 10 against Kyrgyzstan followed by the UAE two days later.