It's up to Selangor to 'naturalise' Armin

If Armin Maier Rafi, who is of Malaysian-German-Singaporean ancestry, wants to be a naturalised footballer in Malaysia, it is up to his team, Selangor 11, said the FA of Malaysia (FAM).

FAM secretary general Stuart Ramalingam said the FA of Selangor should do the naturalisation process if they are serious about having Armin Maier under their local quota for the M-League.

“There is nothing on our side because the club is the one who does the naturalisation. We are not the ones pursuing his conversion (to naturalised player).

“If he’s very, very big, a lot (of clubs) would have tried to sign him on a local passport.

“But as of now he’s not on our radar for Harimau Malaya,” he added.

On Saturday, Timesport reported that defensive midfielder Armin Maier, born to a German father and Malaysian-Singaporean mother, hopes to get his Malaysian passport as he wants to represent the country.

The former Singapore Under-23 footballer said he has been waiting for almost a year to get his Malaysian passport as he hopes to be a heritage player.

Armin Maier, who had previously got an offer to play for Borussia Dortmund, said he had sacrificed everything to be in Malaysia, and is ready for a national call-up.

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