Why has Malaysia pulled out of CAFA Nations Cup 2025?

Malaysia has withdrawn from the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup due to logistical challenges and the unavailability of players, Football Association Malaysia (FAM) announced on Wednesday.

“While we were initially honoured and excited to participate in the CAFA Nations Cup, recent changes to the tournament schedule now falling slightly outside the official FIFA international window have introduced significant challenges that affect player availability, logistics and overall performance readiness,” the FAM said.

The tournament, hosted by in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is scheduled between August 29 and September 8, which is outside the official FIFA calendar. As a result, clubs around the world are not mandated to release players for national team matches, which poses as a major challenge for the Harimau Malaya.

“We’ve got players in top leagues around the world, Spain, Argentina, Colombia & Japan. Getting them to Tajikistan in time to perform at the level we demand is not realistic under the current window,

Then there’s the impact on logistics, recovery, and budget. I would never want to compromise our players’ well-being or go into a tournament not at full-strength,” Malaysia’s head coach Peter Cklamovski said.

“This is an important, strategic decision. We shift our full focus to preparing properly in the September window and making sure we’re ready to perform at our best in October and November, especially with important games like Laos and Nepal ahead.”

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