Last year saw the first naturalised player in Mohamadou Sumareh putting on the Malaysian jersey from friendly matches to the AFF Championship which heralded a new approach within Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The governing body saw the positives in that move and strived to put the method to further good use.
In 2019, delegation from FAM led by president Dato Hamidin Mohd Amin were seen having discussions with the Malaysia prime minister and home minister to discuss on this venture and how certain privileges could be given to expedite the naturalisation process.
Malaysia will have eight matches to be played in Group G of the joint World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 qualification with five of those coming in 2019 - Indonesia (Sep 5, Nov 19), UAE (Sep 10), Vietnam (Oct 10) and Thailand (Nov 14).