Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has made a request for financial assistance to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for organising the 2020 Malaysia Open in November.
BAM apparently needs at least 4 million Malaysian ringgit to organise the event. Malaysia Open has a total prize pool 750,000 US dollars, which is nearly equivalent to 3.2 million Malaysian ringgit.
According to BAM, organising the tournament during a pandemic will incur additional costs to meet the requirements of applicable health standards.
Quoted from the New Straits Times, BAM Secretary Kenny Goh said, “Our expenses will shoot up due to the pandemic. I have written to BWF secretary-general Thomas Lund about it. The BWF do not offer funds to tournament organisers.
“However, the world body should now consider offering help to member nations. This is because organisers have to implement safety measures at all levels due to Covid-19, and this will increase expenses.
“We will have to hire more people and also spend on disinfecting and sanitising the venue and equipment daily.”