KUALA LUMPUR: Vietnam are keeping silent on a proposal by the FA of Malaysia (FAM), and that is a setback to the latter's pre-World Cup/Asian Cup plans.
Because of Covid-19, FAM hope to postpone Malaysia's World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers from next month to June.
And to this end, FAM have got an agreement on the "June dates" from three teams in Group G: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia and Thailand. Under this proposal, the teams play at a centralised venue, in just one country, doing away with the home and away format.
However, Vietnam do not seem to be agreeable to the "June dates" and the centralised format, and they have not responded to FAM's suggestion.
According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), it is not a simple case of "majority rules", even if four teams in the group want to play in June, and not March.
AFC general secretary Datuk Windsor John said every country has "the right" to play at home.
"I think if you understand the principle, then it would be easier to grasp the idea. Many (media) have been reporting this wrongly because as it stands, all countries have the right to play at home – it is a home and away format.
"But if it can be proven that they cannot play (home and away format), then it becomes centralised.
"For example, if it's Singapore – nobody can stop them or tell them to play in a centralised format because the country's numbers (Covid-19 cases) are small and they could entertain flights from abroad (having ability to play home and away). So, they have the right to host their own matches.
"Another thing that many have overlooked is the understanding that maybe this particular MA (member association) have sold their sponsorship, broadcast rights, and it's a commitment they cannot forego. There's more to football than just the straightforward way of looking at it."
Windsor said all the participants are urged to find a solution (in finalising the dates of the pre-World Cup/Asian Cup) by Feb 15 following which AFC will intervene.
"We will try to find out what are the issues and definitely derive at a solution because we need to finish the World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers.
"In this case, if four (countries) say yes, we still need to speak to others to see what the issues and the reasoning behind their answer are."
FAM secretary general Stuart Ramalingam said FAM had applied to AFC for the World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers to be moved to June.
"I am sure the AFC will have their internal process on this matter. We will respect and abide by it.
"All the related countries are in touch about this and we will follow up on this matter progressively."
Malaysia have three pre-World Cup games remaining: against UAE, Vietnam and Thailand.