KUALA LUMPUR: It is still unsure if young forward Arif Aiman Hanapi will be called up to play for the national Under-23 squad that will compete in the Under-23 (U-23) Asia Cup in Qatar come April.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) president, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said that he will wait and see if Arif Aiman's name is included in coach Juan Torres Garrido's list of players for the tournament in Qatar.
He explained that usually young players who have already turned out for the national senior squad will not drop down to the younger team.
"We will wait and see to look at the list from the coach. If we look in Europe, younger players who play for the senior squad will no longer represent the younger, age-group squad.
"This is because if we look at such players, if they go for all the matches, they will faint if they were to play in all the matches.
"The end result is to the club and his team, but I have not received the list from Juan Torres as to who he will call up," he said.
Before this, there were suggestions that Arif Aiman be called up to the Under-23 squad for the Asian Cup based on his quality and experience as he has played for the senior Harimau Malaya squad.
Apart from this, Hamidin informed that the squad under Garrido are in the early planning stage and are to play in friendly matches against India, Qatar, and China as preparation for the Asia Cup.
"The friendly match against India will be played here in Malaysia, we will play Qatar twice perhaps and then China, which will take place in Qatar. The team will go early, and so far these are the confirmed friendly matches that will take place," he said.