KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) will ensure the Coldplay concert and the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asia Cup football qualifiers held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium this November will run smoothly.
Its minister, Hannah Yeoh said she had discussed the use of the stadium for both events with Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, adding that they always struck a balance between football and concerts, but declined to elaborate on the matter.
“We will wait for (the 2027 Asia Cup) draw, which will take place in July,” she told reporters after a media conference here today.
Hamidin had said in a statement yesterday that the dates of the Coldplay concert and the qualifying matches would not overlap as the FAM had made a prior booking with Stadium Malaysia Corporation according to the match date scheduled in the FIFA footballing calendar.
The qualifiers are expected to take place on Nov 16 and 21, while the concert is scheduled for Nov 22.
A similar issue occurred in January after 21,000 seats for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup first leg semifinal match had to be emptied to allow for the construction of a stage for a concert by famous Taiwanese celebrity, Jay Chou.
