Malaysia has cancelled an international Under-23 football competition involving Mexico and Brazil because of swine flu fears, a senior Malaysian official said Monday. The Inter-Continental Cup was held here for the first time last year, when Nigeria beat Australia in the final, and this year's competition was to have run from June 1 to 14.
But Azzuddin Ahmad, who is secretary general of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), said that while the tournament was important, his organisation would not compromise on the health and safety of the players. "This is done due to health fears," he told AFP, adding FAM was unable to reschedule the competition because other dates were full. Azzuddin said the decision was made after consultations with officials from the health ministry.
Apart from the Malaysian squad, teams from Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea had also been expected to participate. Malaysia is free of the A(H1N1) swine flu virus, but it has spread from its outbreak origins in Mexico to 29 other nations, infecting nearly 4,700 people, while the global death toll has passed 50. Apart from Mexico, other countries where cases have been reported include Brazil, Japan and South Korea.
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