THE National Sports Council (NSC) have warned Malaysian sports officials not to send their athletes to five countries for competition or training due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The five coronavirus-stricken countries are China, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan.
This travel-ban was among several precautionary measures taken by NSC, especially for those involving athletes preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July.
The NSC issued this directive to officials from national sports associations (NSAs) at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
After a briefing by the Ministry of Health (MoH), all the NSAs and coaches agreed to adhere to the measures which begin this month. There were a total of 23 representatives from the national podium and backup programmes.
“Everyone has agreed to avoid these five countries at least for March, after being advised by the MoH,” said NSC director general, Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail.
“It doesn't matter if it's for a tournament or training programme. If it is in any of these five countries, NSC will not provide any support or funding.
“Secondly, any overseas training for non-targeted sports, even outside the five mentioned countries will be put on hold for this month.
“NSC will not support or provide funding for any programme that is not on our priority list.
“However, if these tournaments are part of a qualifying process for a major tournament and not the Olympics, then they will have to discuss with their respective athletes and coaches. Are they truly ready and confident?
‘We don't want to pressure our athletes, neither do we want them to go there half-hearted. The measures taken will be reviewed on a month to month basis. We will monitor the situation closely,” added Shapawi.
