KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — As speculated, Lebanon has legally withdrawn from the 2023 Pestabola Merdeka competition, which is scheduled for October 13-17 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman said that FAM had obtained confirmation from Tajikistan, ranked 110 in the world, to replace Lebanon.

He said the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) had sent an official letter of withdrawal on Monday after the team was recently drawn in the same group as Palestine in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers which will start in November.

Lebanon, ranked 100th in the world, and Palestine (ranked 96th), were also drawn against each other in the Pestabola Merdeka action, while the Harimau Malaya squad led by Kim Pan Gon would face India in the four-cornered competition.

"FAM took a proactive step by immediately contacting some new teams so that the competition, which was set to be participated by four teams in two match days, is not affected.

"Despite this change, the match schedule based on the decision of the draw ceremony on August 8 will proceed,” he said in a statement today.

According to the latest schedule, the competition on the first day (October 13) of the 42nd edition of Pestabola Merdeka will see Palestine meet Tajikistan at 4.30pm, followed by a match between Malaysia, ranked 136, and India (ranked 99th) at 9pm.

The team that wins the match will advance to the final scheduled for 9pm, October 17 while the losing team will play in the third-place match at 4.30pm on the same day. — Bernama