Football Association of Malaysia General Secretary Datuk Dr Ibrahim Saad said FAM is committed to doing its part in the promotional efforts for the 16-nation AFC Asian Cup being hosted by Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia next month but has warned the Asian Football Confederation that there may be problems in other countries. "I just have one piece of advice for AFC. I have recently been to Indonesia and Thailand, and I think Malaysia is not the one with a problem. That’s all I’ll say," he said as reported by the New Straits Times.
AFC General Secretary Datuk Paul Mony Samuel on Wednesday accused FAM of leaving the promotional efforts solely to AFC but Ibrahim would not be drawn on whether his comments meant the other co-hosts were also not pulling their weight in promoting the Asian Cup.
"Malaysia is not a problem. We have started selling tickets for the Asian Cup, began a media advertising campaign on radio and television and put up banners. But whether it is enough to get the spectators to fill the stadiums I don’t know. We can promote it all we want but we can’t force the people to come. Ideally, we would also like to see full stadiums for Super League matches, but it depends on the fans," he said.
AFC General Secretary Datuk Paul Mony Samuel on Wednesday accused FAM of leaving the promotional efforts solely to AFC but Ibrahim would not be drawn on whether his comments meant the other co-hosts were also not pulling their weight in promoting the Asian Cup.
"Malaysia is not a problem. We have started selling tickets for the Asian Cup, began a media advertising campaign on radio and television and put up banners. But whether it is enough to get the spectators to fill the stadiums I don’t know. We can promote it all we want but we can’t force the people to come. Ideally, we would also like to see full stadiums for Super League matches, but it depends on the fans," he said.