PETALING JAYA, July 16 – Kim Pan Gon has announced his resignation as head coach of the national men’s football squad effective immediately due to personal commitments.
At a special press conference at Wisma FAM on Tuesday, the 55-year-old coach from South Korea said he had decided to leave the national team even though his contract with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was until December 2025.
“I apologise for any disappointment this may have caused to all parties. Since I arrived in February 2022, for the past two and a half years, Malaysians have truly gifted me with a very extraordinary and wonderful journey in my life.
“In June 2022, we together share the joy of Malaysia qualifying for the Asian Cup on merit after a period of 43 years and since then, we have risen to 130th in the FIFA ranking.
“In the last action of the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, in January, we managed to draw 3-3 with the 22nd ranked team in the world, South Korea, thus showing the pride that Malaysians should have in their football,” he said.
Meanwhile, FAM deputy president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said assistant head coach Pau Marti Vicente of Spain is acting head coach of the Harimau Malaya squad, assisted by another national assistant head coach, E. Elavarasan.
