KUALA LUMPUR: The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Asia-Oceania Continental Flag Football Championship from Oct 27-29 in Shah Alam will be used as a "measuring stick" by the Sports Ministry.
This comes after flag football was added to thr 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Deputy Sports Minister Adam Adli, who officiated the Asia-Oceania Continental Flag Football Championship today, congratulated IFAF and the Malaysia American Football Association (Mafa) for their efforts.
"The sport was introduced to the Sports Ministry a couple of months ago. We got to see how the rules and regulations worked and hopefully we can help more in the form of support given especially through the National Sports Council," said Adam.
"We hope to qualify for the 2028 LA Olympics because it has potential.
I'm convinced that Mafa and others, especially on an Asian level, have a healthy community to bring the sport up."
Another sport included for the 2028 Olympics is squash, which Malaysia is strong in. "It's a big deal for squash to be absorbed as an Olympic sport, especially for Malaysia. And I'm sure after this, Hannah Yeoh (Sports Minister) will make announcements for us to observe a couple of sports, including flag football," said Adam.
Separately, on the issues of unpaid salaries in the M-League, Adam said: "I think there's plenty of opinions on salaries. We can't put a cap on (players' salaries) but we hope MFL will look into the matter. If there needs be, the Sports Ministry will follow closely but let the MFL and FAM handle it."
