E. Elavarasan has officially relinquished his position as Malaysia U23 national team head coach to return to focus on his original duties as assistant head coach of the Malaysia national team. According to official statement from Football Association of Malaysia(FAM) today.
Elavarasan, on 1 September 2022, was announced as the new head coach of Malaysia U23 national team, replacing Brad Maloney and at the same time, still holds the position of assistant to the national head coach, Kim Pan-Gon, in the national senior squad.
FAM, at that time, made the decision to appoint Elavarasan to lead the Malaysia U23 national team because he was in the Pan Gon coaching system, thus facilitating the continuity process for the senior squad and the Malaysia U23 national team.
One year under Elavarasan, Malaysia’s U23 national team won the Merlion Cup 2023 in Singapore last March, and despite failing at the Men’s Football SEA Games 2023 in Cambodia in May, they managed to qualify for the semi-finals of the AFF U23 Championship 2023 in Rayong, Thailand on August and qualified for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2023 after passing the qualifying round from best-runner up in Group H in Chonburi, Thailand recently.
Immediately after completing the assignment in Chonburi, a meeting between Elavarasan and the President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Datuk Haji Hamidin Haji Mohd Amin, was held at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya, to discuss the direction of the Malaysia U23 national team after the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 qualifiers.
In that heart-to-heart discussion, Datuk Haji Hamidin and Elavarasan have reached a consensus and agreement that he should return to focus on his responsibilities as the national assistant head coach to help Pan Gon in the senior squad, thus giving space to other individuals to shoulder the duties of leader Malaysia U23 national team head coach to the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar, next April.
Datuk Haji Hamidin also expressed his deepest gratitude for Elavarasan’s contribution for still successfully leading the team to qualify for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024, despite losing 1-0 to Thailand in the last qualifying match on September 12.
Elavarasan’s successor as the Malaysia U23 national team head coach for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar next April will only be announced after several studies and discussions with the parties involved, and a final decision will be reached later.
Source : FAM
Credit Photo : FAM
