KUALA LUMPUR: The FA of Malaysia (FAM) are hoping to keep the Bukit Jalil National Stadium as the home stadium for the national team if they reach the AFF Cup final.
Harimau Malaya are in a good position to reach their fifth final in the history of the regional competition after notching a 1-0 win in the first leg of their semi-final against Thailand at Bukit Jalil yesterday. The second leg will be played in Thailand on Tuesday.
But there are plenty of questions on the availability of the National Stadium if Malaysia needs to host the second leg of the final on Jan 16.
This is because Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's concert will be held on Jan 15. A massive overnight effort would be required to ensure the stadium is ready to host the match the next day.
Chou has offered to postpone his concert, but there have been no discussions on the matter. The focus is on how to remedy the situation.
FAM secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman acknowledged the big task ahead, but called for calm as the national body worked to resolve the issue.
"We can't confirm anything at the moment, but as soon as the team completes the second leg encounter against Thailand, we will immediately speak to the stadium people if we go through (to the final)," Azman told Timesport today.
"If possible, we want to keep Bukit Jalil as our venue if we reach the final, but that would require assurances from the stadium (officials) and huge manpower support to work immediately after the concert."
Timesport understands that it would not be possible for complete removal of all concert structures within 24 hours and, at best, FAM are looking at 50,000 capacity, which is less than what was made available for the semi-final clash yesterday.
But with five days to plan after the conclusion of the semi-finals, FAM are confident of working out a solution.
FAM had previously listed the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras to the Asean Football Federation (AFF) as the second choice home stadium for the national team and it remains an option if it is needed.
