Malaysia national under-23 football team (Malay: Pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan bawah-23 Malaysia), also known as Malaysia Under-23, Malaysia U-23 or Malaysia Olympic football team is the national association football team of Malaysia in under-23 and 22 level, representing the country at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments including the AFC U-23 Championship.

It is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The team won the 2009 and 2011 SEA Games gold medal.

History

The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Malaysia national football team. It is for players aged 23 and less, however 3 senior players can also be selected to play. Also in existence are national teams for the Under-20s, Under-17s and Under-15s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, hence it is possible for one to play for the U-23s, senior side and then again for the U-23s.

Olympic 2000

After the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, FAM was aiming to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympic. Thus, the FAM spent about US$6 million and continued the contract of Malaysian youth team coach, Hatem Souissi. Then FAM formed a squad known as Olympic 2000 with a combination of 1997 youth squad and other under 23 players. FAM decided to include Olympic 2000 as one of the teams in Malaysia League. Their first match was against Johor FA in a qualification match for Malaysia Premier I League. The team won their first match away 1–0 before drawing 1–1 at home to qualify for Malaysia Premier I League. However the team finished bottom during the 1998 season with only 4 wins in 22 matches. The Olympic 2000 also showed poor performance at the international stage. They were humiliated by the Thailand Asian Games squad in a 1998 friendly match as the Thais beat them 9–0. During the qualification matches, Olympic 2000 only managed to finish third behind Hong Kong and Japan. It was questioned among fans how a squad that had been playing together since 1995 with fine talents and given so much exposure cannot achieve expectations.

Disbandment of Harimau Muda

After Harimau Muda project disbanded, FAM needed a fresh start for the U-23 team where a new set of players was brought in for the team with the creation of SEA Games Project 2017 team. The players in the team mainly consisted of players with ages around 18 to 21 years old where the oldest players will be below the age requirement of 22 years old when 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia started. With a bigger pool of players within age of 18–22, the players in the team will also play in other age-restricted tournament as the younger side such as U-21 and U-22 when needed.

马来西亚23岁以下足球队,简称马来西亚23岁以下或马来西亚23岁以下,是马来西亚的一支年轻的职业足球队,成立于2004年。

这支队伍由一群充满激情和决心的年轻球员组成,他们致力于在国内外赛事中展现出最好的表现。虽然他们年轻,但队伍中的许多球员已经在国内外赛事中积累了丰富的经验,并且已经在马来西亚和东南亚的足球赛事中赢得了多个冠军头衔。

这支队伍注重战术和技术训练,努力在每个赛季中实现他们的目标。他们在每一场比赛中都展示出高度的职业道德和团队协作精神,让人们相信他们有望成为未来的亚洲顶级球队之一。

此外,马来西亚23岁以下队伍也在不断寻求改善和进步的机会。他们聘请了一批经验丰富的教练,定期参加国际训练营和比赛,努力提升队伍的实力和竞争力。

总之,这支年轻的马来西亚23岁以下队伍充满活力和潜力,是东南亚足球的重要力量。他们的成功将不仅为马来西亚足球带来荣誉,也将为整个东南亚地区的足球发展做出贡献。