AFL cancels M3 League season due to COVID-19 pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8  -- The Amateur Football League (AFL) has cancelled this season’s third-tier M3 League due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AFL chairman Datuk Wira Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said the decision, made by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) Board of Directors, was aimed at protecting the health and safety of the society as well as after taking into consideration the financial impact on the amateur clubs in the M3 League.

Mohd Yusoff, who is also a member of the MFL board of directors, said the cancellation was also based on the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the National Security Council (NSC) and Ministry of Health (MOH).

He said in a statement issued by MFL today that the M3 League was cancelled to comply with the SOP banning any huge gatherings and the additional cost involved for the teams to purchase equipment for COVID-19 screening, including disinfectants and thermometers.

He said that the league, which was supposed to resume in September, had to be cancelled because they would not be able to complete the fixtures by December since all the teams still had 16 matches left to play.

He explained that most of the players were either public and private sector employees who could only play on weekends.

“To make things worse, some of the clubs’ sponsors have either not renewed their contracts or pulled out due to financial constraints caused by the pandemic, thus limiting the teams’ financial capabilities,” he said.  

Mohd Yusoff said that AFL would also review next season’s M3 League structure, which would be presented to the MFL board of directors.

He also suggested that M4 League organisers cancelled the league for the same reasons. 

“The termination of players and team officials’ contracts or agreements must be done in accordance with the country’s laws and must be amicable,” he said.  

-- BERNAMA