KUALA LUMPUR – As the Malaysia Super League kicks off in a month, Perak FC openly acknowledges the challenging task of bridging the gap between the club and its fans.
The west coast club, affectionately known as Bos Gaurus by fans, has weathered numerous highs and lows over the years. They were relegated from the Super League in 2021, marking the first such occurrence in their history since the league’s establishment in 1982.
They were also the first club to be penalised with a three-point deduction for failing to pay remaining salary arrears to players and team officials, as well as a financial guarantee for the 2021 season.
Since then, several core players have left the club, causing disunity among fans, and the club’s ownership has changed several times.
In 2022, a public-listed telecommunications company, XOX Bhd, assumed ownership, leading to their comeback in the Super League last season, which saw the club finish 11th in the Super League with 22 points.
Speaking to Scoop, Perak FC’s chief executive officer, Bobie Farid Shamsudin, said that he’s saddened by the current state of the club and pledges to ensure that fans attend games at the Perak Stadium this season.
The Perak Stadium, located in Kg Simee, Ipoh, has a capacity of 42,500 seats.
“It’s going to be a mountain for us to climb to make sure that we don’t go through the issues that we went through in the past. Our main issue right now is generating money for the club.
“I’m sad to see the current situation of the club; this club was known as one of the best football clubs in the country, and now we are nowhere close to where we were.
“I doubt that this will happen in the near future, but I just hope that the fans can come and rally behind the team in these circumstances. It’s really hard for us, from the management’s side, to generate income and take care of our operations when the numbers are not there. If Perak fans themselves don’t support us, who else will?
“It’s sometimes a miracle for us to even see about 2,000 to 3,000 fans coming to the stadium to watch our matches. With these numbers, if we translate them into ticket sales revenue, we only generate about RM1 million to RM1.5 million per year, and our expenses are about RM1.5 million a month.
“It’s a difficult task for us to bring back a full-packed stadium, but we are not going to just sit here and complain about it. We want to ensure that they come to the stadium by showing what we can do on the pitch,” said Bobie when contacted.
At the same time, Bobie acknowledged that the low fan attendance is not unique to his club but is a common challenge in the local football industry as a whole.
“I do not always blame the fans; they always expect something different when they come to support us. In this topic, we must first distinguish the customer; those who watch the Malaysian league are mostly in the B40 category.
“Malaysians watching other international leagues, such as the English Premier League, are either in the T-20 or above. The reason fans support international football more than local football clubs, including ours, is because of the standard of football, and they want that level here in our country.
“Let’s be real here; our local football industry is not ready for that as we don’t have the proper fields, training facilities, or academies like foreign countries and clubs.
“For now, all the professional Malaysian clubs lack these assets except for Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT). It’s going to take a long time for other clubs, aside from JDT, to cater to the fans’ needs. It’s more like a chicken and egg story; fans want this, and the clubs want their support, and that’s the problem we have to address now,” Bobie added.
This season’s Super League campaign is expected to begin on May 10. – April 8, 2024