KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Football League (MFL) has cancelled the 2021 FA Cup and deferred the start of the Malaysian League (M-League) to March 5 due to the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the country.

MFL chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said the FA Cup was dropped from this year’s calendar to avoid burdening teams with a tight competition schedule which might affect the quality of the M-League. The MCO will be in force until Feb 4 in all states except Sarawak, where only certain areas of the state are placed under the movement restriction order.

Ab Ghani said the decision to postpone the M-League kick-off from the earlier scheduled date of Feb 26 was reached at the special meeting of MFL Board which was held virtually and based on the views and agreement of team representatives at a special briefing yesterday.

Ab Ghani also said MFL also had several other mechanisms to start the 2021 M-League campaign if the MCO is extended beyond Feb 4.