Malaysia and Indonesia decline to participate in ASIAD 2026.

The Malaysian women's team confirms they will not participate in football at the 2026 Asian Games due to a late notification of rule changes from the Asian Olympic Council, making preparation plans impossible to adjust.

The Malaysian Football Association confirms that the country's women's team will not participate in women's football. at the 2026 Asian Games, despite the Asian Olympic Council having changed regulations to allow countries to freely register for participation.

Initially, the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) planned to limit the number of teams participating in football at the 2026 Asian Games. Under this plan, only 16 men's teams qualifying for the final stage. of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup. and 12 women's teams earning qualification for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup would be permitted to compete at the continent's largest sports event.

However, this plan faced opposition from many member federations. After review, the OCA decided to adjust regulations and allow countries to freely register for football at the 2026 Asian Games, instead of applying quotas as initially planned.

Nevertheless, this change came too late for Malaysian women's football. The technical director of women's football at the Malaysian Football Association, Ms. Soleen Al-Zoubi, stated that the team had already established competition and activity plans beforehand, making last-minute adjustments impossible.

Ms. Soleen explained that the Asian Games is not part of FIFA's official match calendar. Therefore, calling up players outside international breaks would significantly impact domestic match schedules and the entire annual operational plan.

“We planned for the national team and domestic league very early. The Asian Games is not within FIFA's match calendar system, so assembling the team outside FIFA-approved days would disrupt the entire year's plan,”. Ms. Soleen shared.

According to the Malaysian Football Association representative, information about the possibility of participating in the Asian Games was only conveyed last month. By then, preparations for finance, logistics, and the women's team's match schedule were already finalized, making adjustments nearly impossible.

Ms. Soleen also acknowledged that this decision might disappoint Malaysian fans. However, Malaysia is not the only case withdrawing from women's football at the 2026 Asian Games.

Several other teams in the region, including the Indonesian women's team and the Hong Kong (China) women's team, have also decided not to participate due to similar reasons related to match schedules and preparation work.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian men's team has not yet made a final decision on whether to participate in men's football at the 2026 Asian Games. This decision is expected to be carefully considered by the Malaysian Football Association in the coming period, based on the competition plan and preparation of the U23 team.