THE national Under-19 side will represent the country at the Vietnam Sea Games on Nov 21-Dec 2.
It is definitely a bold move as the tournament will comprise Under-23 teams.
Australian-born Brad Maloney has been given the job to prepare a formidable team for the assignment.
Maloney's contract has been extended until December.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam, who confirmed Maloney's contract extension yesterday, said the Australian will be handling the Sea Games team.
For the record, Maloney helped the Under-19 side qualify for the AFC Championship after they topped their group in the qualifiers in 2019.
The team continued their fine run under Maloney by finishing runners-up in the AFF Under-18 Championship, the same year.
Maloney was supposed to prepare his team for the AFC Championship in March, but the tournament has been called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The national body will be using this year's Sea Games to groom their Under-19 players accordingly ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifying tournament.
Maloney's contract extension comes as a surprise as current Project Squad coach Yusri Che Lah and S. Balachandran were among those initially tipped to replace the Australian.
Yusri, however, could be assisting Maloney at the Sea Games.
In the 2019 edition, the national Under-23 failed to make the semi-finals following embarrassing defeats to hosts, Philippines and Cambodia.