No charm in 2020 M'sia Cup competition without Sabah - Hassan Sani

By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30  -- The Malaysia Cup 2020 competition scheduled to start on Nov 6, will 'lose its charm' without the participation of Sabah, says national football legend Datuk Hassan Sani.

The former member of the national squad which qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 said Sabah's participation in Southeast Asia’s oldest football tournament had always made it a joy to watch.

In fact, he said Sabah's impressive performance in the last two seasons including advancing to the semi-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Cup as well as winning the 2019 Premier League championship could have added more zest to the competition.

However, being aware of the current COVID-19 situation in Sabah, the former Sabah striker stressed that the health and wellbeing of the people was more important.

“It is sad as Sabah cannot participate in the Malaysia Cup this time, but looking at the latest COVID-19 situation, for me, the question of safety and health is number one…we can play football anytime (when it’s safe). Daily (COVID-19) cases in Sabah are still high," he told Bernama today.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed that Sabah would not be participating in the 2020 Malaysia Cup competition after the squad was unable to get an exemption from the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) which was extended until Nov. 9.

Sabah has recorded more than 4,000 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days.

In the meantime, Hassan urged the players who had worked hard to get Sabah into the Malaysia Cup competition this season to not give up and keep their fighting spirit alive for next season.

"As a former player, I understand the feeling of not being able to compete after working hard. Fans will also be disappointed that their favourite team could not play. I hope the players especially do not give up and be patient," he explained.

Hassan was among the key players in the national squad which qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow after defeating South Korea in the Asian qualifiers, but the dream of playing at the prestigious event did not materialise, as the Malaysian government at the time decided to boycott the Games in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

-- BERNAMA