KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — The national football team began their central training camp today in preparation for the 2020 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup Championship in Singapore, next month.

Phase One of the central training camp, which brings together players who have ended the Malaysia Cup 2021 campaign with their respective teams, was held at Wisma Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in Kelana Jaya.

Based on FAM’s official Twitter tweet, midfielder Baddrol Bakhtiar has been given permission to report himself on Wednesday, as the "architect” of Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC welcomed the birth of his second child recently.

This meant that 11 of the 28 players listed by head coach Tan Cheng Hoe attended the training session today.

Players from teams that are eliminated in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup are set to report on November 28, while players who will play in the final of the prestigious competition will join the national team on December 1.

Meanwhile, four other players based overseas, namely Junior Eldstal, Dominic Tan, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Dion Cools are scheduled to join the team in Singapore.

The 2020 AFF Cup is scheduled to take place from December 5 to January 1, with Malaysia as the 2018 edition runners-up drawn in Group B along with reigning champions Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.

Malaysia will begin their campaign against Cambodia on December 6 followed by Laos (December 9), Vietnam (December 12) and Indonesia on December 19, in a bid to emerge as one of the top two teams to qualify for the semifinals. — Bernama