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Bukit Jalil pitch to be used only by Malaysia, promises Tony Fernandes

15:36 GMT+4 15/08/2019
Syed Saddiq, Hamidin Amin, Tony Fernandes, 15082019
Bukit Jalil is now officially the home of the Malaysia national team, and Tony Fernandes wants to ensure that no other teams will use the pitch.

BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter

The Bukit Jalil National Stadium is now officially the home of the Malaysia national team.

The deal was officiated with a memorandum signing ceremony held at the stadium on Thursday, between the Malaysian FA (FAM) president Dato' Hamidin Amin and Malaysia Stadium Board (PSM) chairman Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, with Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in attendance.

The arrangement will see the Harimau Malaya playing all their upcoming World Cup/Asian Cup qualifying home matches, as well as their 2020 AFF Championship home encounters at the venue.

The memorandum may also be extended for two more years, from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022, by mutual agreement.

PSM is determined to put improvements in place on matchdays, such as total online match ticket sales and seat numbering. These two plans are targeted for implementation by September 10, when Malaysia host UAE in their qualification campaign.

Hamidin meanwhile laid out further plans, to make the venue a more permanent home ground for the national team.

"This is a cooperation initiated by FAM, one that ensures that the 'home of Harimau Malaya' is situated at a breath-taking, modern and sophisticated stadium such as the National Stadium, a venue that also has the supporters' convenience in mind, through the availability of public transportation services and their comfort inside the stadium.

Tony meanwhile wanted to ensure that the stadium pitch is not used by any other teams, when speaking in the press conference.

"We must ensure that the pitch is not used for any other sports. It was a mistake to let some other games be played on it just before the previous World Cup qualifiers matches (against Timor-Leste)."
