KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The Youth and Sports Ministry cannot give a guarantee that the Harimau Malaya football squad will receive their Covid-19 vaccine shots before travelling to the United Arab Emirates in June to complete their 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers mission.

Its minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the ministry had already submitted a proposed list of athletes to be given priority in the second vaccination phase for approval by the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme committee and its Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

The list consists of three groups of more than 4,000 athletes and officials, including 1,000 individuals such as Malaysian Football League and hockey players, and athletes due to compete in domestic and international events.

“I am trying (to get them vaccinated) under the second phase, but this all depends on available supply. I cannot pre-empt what is being decided by Khairy and the immunisation programme committee, so these groups will only receive their shots when there is supply. 

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“The number of those (athletes and officials) under the second phase is quite large and they have to cross states and be part of the sports bubble.

“So, in the event they do receive the vaccine, their jobs will be made much easier,” he told reporters after receiving his vaccine jab along with the first group of national athletes at the Desa Tasik Sports Complex vaccination centre (PPV) in Cheras here today.

The national football team coached by Tan Cheng Hoe, in their mission to qualify for a place in the 2023 Asian Cup, is expected to return to centralised training on May 16, before travelling to the UAE to face the host country on June 3, followed by Vietnam (June 11) and Thailand on June 15.

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Reezal Merican said the first group of 264 individuals, including 93 normal athletes and 35 para-athletes who have and are trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine today.

They are due to receive their second dose on May 4, except for the national diving squad who will receive them after returning from the Diving World Cup in Tokyo which takes place from May 1-6.

Meanwhile, National Sports Institute chief executive officer Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli said athletes who have been vaccinated will be monitored for side effects and other issues.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5. — Bernama