Malaysia faces sanctions after sudden withdrawal from CAFA Nations Cup

The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) has condemned Malaysia National Team’s decision to withdraw from CAFA Nations Cup 2025 — a tournament equivalent to the AFF Cup in Southeast Asia.

The decision, made by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) together with coach Peter Cklamovski, was announced last Wednesday — just a month before the tournament scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 8, 2025.

“Malaysia’s participation was confirmed from the beginning, with full knowledge of the tournament schedule. These dates have never been changed from the initial plan,” stated CAFA’s official release.

FAM justified their withdrawal citing the tournament schedule being outside FIFA calendar — a reason deemed unacceptable considering this was known from the start. This action could potentially result in Malaysia being blacklisted by Central Asian countries.