The association said the problem arose when Jaami’s father, Perviz Qureshi, wanted his son to be given citizenship without having to undergo the process of any technical evaluation.
Jaami currently plays as a centreback with the youth team of Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
FAM secretary-general Saifuddin Abu Bakar said they began communicating with his father and the Brighton academy manager John Morling at the end of June 2020, Bernama reported.
He said it was to discuss calling up the player, who will turn 18 next month, for the national Under-19 squad’s centralised training camp ahead of the 2020 Asian Football Confederation Under-19 Championship, which was subsequently cancelled.
According to Saifuddin, on July 10, 2020, Perviz informed FAM that he was reluctant to allow his son to return home due to the long Covid-19 quarantine period.
“Instead, he suggested that FAM start the process of getting Malaysian citizenship for his son. Perviz was also reluctant to allow FAM to send their technical staff to assess Jaami’s capabilities,” he said in a statement to the national news agency.
“However, we will not compromise over the government’s rules, guidelines and laws with regard to the process required for citizenship status for any individual when it comes to national team selection under any age group.”
Saifuddin added that on July 14 last year, FAM made contact with Perviz again, pointing out that three very important factors had to be determined. Firstly, Jaami must be present physically to fufil the process of applying for citizenship.
Secondly, Jaami was required to give his commitment to choosing Malaysia and not England should both qualify for the 2021 Under-20 World Cup.
Thirdly, Jaami had to undergo a selection trial from the technical aspect, just like the other foreign-based footballer, Wan Ahmad Kuzri Kamal.
However, on July 24, Jaami was officially left out by the then national Under-19 head coach Brad Maloney after both parties failed to reach an agreement on the three conditions.
“It is clear that there is no truth to allegations that FAM did not take any action. The secretary-general took the initiative to reach out to the Qureshi family in 2020 but, due to several factors, efforts to get Jaami a Malaysian citizenship did not materialise,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying by Bernama.
“Now that Jaami has chosen Iraqi citizenship, we wish him all the best.”