THERE were plenty of rumours about American-born Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal after he wasn’t listed in the national 20-man squad for the Philippines Sea Games.
The FA of Malaysia gave a vague explanation on Kuzain’s status on Friday, citing a “lack of” documentation.
This has led to fans speculating that Kuzain, who plays in Major League Soccer as a professional, is not keen to give up his American passport.
However, FAM secretary general Stuart Ramalingam said although the national body are not able to disclose internal details, they are still very much interested in the 21-year-old.
“They (professionals) need to decide (what’s best for them) and with the system that we have (Home Affairs Ministry), we have to coordinate and process internally. The team have departed (for the Sea Games) and had we had more time, we could have solved this,” said Stuart.
“But a decision had to be made and if we had more time, a different decision could have been reached.”
Kuzain, who plays for Sporting Kansas City, joined Ong Kim Swee’s squad for three days of training and had hoped to get selected for the Sea Games. Unfortunately, this did not materialise.
Earlier in the week, Kim Swee told the press that midfielder Kuzain would be a great asset to Malaysia in the long run, which is what FAM are aiming for.
Malaysia’s rule against dual citizenship has put Kuzain in a spot. If he relinquishes his American passport, he will not be able to play in the MLS.
If Kuzain goes for Malaysian citizenship only, he would have a greater chance of his football career reaching a higher level.
This would be a boost for Harimau Malaya in the long run.
It is understood that FAM prefer Kuzain hones his skill overseas before joining the national team.
Meanwhile, FAM said Kosovo Albanian Liridon Krasniqi and Brazilian Guilherme de Paula’s applications to be naturalised players for Malaysia are still pending Fifa’s approval.
“In terms of Liridon and de Paula, we are still waiting for word from Fifa and should all go well, the duo will only be available for the national team after the second window, which is after June,” said FAM deputy president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi.
That means if Krasniqi and de Paula get the green light from Fifa, they will still not be able to help Harimau Malaya for their pre-World Cup second round qualification.
They will only be able to be registered with the national team for the third round, should Tan Cheng Hoe’s men progress.