KUALA LUMPUR – National sports associations (NSAs) need to fully leverage social media platforms to promote their activities, programs, and athletes to attract more funding from the corporate sector.
Many NSAs in Malaysia have long lists of goals, with plans to make significant changes to the sporting landscape. However, these ambitions often rely heavily on government funding to bring them to fruition.
While the government has made efforts to meet the needs of sports stakeholders, there has also been a push to encourage more involvement from the corporate sector, which is seen as a key player in developing the nation’s sports scene.
Yet, it remains a challenge to get corporate sponsors on board. Corporations are primarily driven by the potential for return on investment, considering factors such as brand exposure, event visibility, and social media engagement.
This is evident in the success of major sports associations like the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), and Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), which have secured substantial investments from corporations and government-linked companies (GLCs) such as Malaysia Airlines, Petronas, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Affin Bank, Grab Malaysia, Allianz, and others.
These partnerships are largely attributed to the combined social media reach of these associations, which boasts more than 2 million followers.
However, a recent check by Scoop found that more than 20 out of 58 NSAs registered under the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) are not fully utilising their social media platforms or maintaining updated official websites.
This raises the question: why aren’t these associations prioritising this, especially when sports fans today demand more accessible, interactive, and engaging content related to their favourite sport?
Speaking to Scoop, sports analyst Christopher Raj believes that it’s time for NSAs to leverage their social media presence and become more active, as this will help them gain more funding from corporations and reduce their reliance on the government.
“The importance of social media presence began gaining traction around 10 years ago. Naturally, associations like FAM, BAM, and MHC, among others, got a head start because they either had the funds or were able to allocate more manpower to it. Over time, this investment in digital presence paid off.
“For instance, FAM’s Facebook page, which had around 100,000 to 150,000 followers back in 2015, now boasts nearly a million. NSAs need to run enough events and activities to keep their social media platforms updated and relevant. Creating and maintaining a decent website has also been a struggle for many NSAs these days, as many existing websites are outdated with missing or inaccurate data.
“When NSAs speak to commercial partners, these are the aspects that corporations prioritize. NSAs must have a strong social media presence to attract corporate funding. If they’re looking to secure a RM 1 million sponsorship, NSAs need to demonstrate a clear ROI in terms of how they will provide exposure for corporate brands through social media.
“Many NSAs struggle with this, which is why they often rely on government funding instead of attracting corporate support.
“Some NSAs lack a clear understanding of how to develop a content plan based on the sport they oversee. When it comes to ROI, corporations are hesitant to invest if they don’t see any meaningful social media activation. This is why associations like football, badminton, and hockey are able to secure corporate funding—they can clearly show potential ROI,” said Christopher when contacted.
Meanwhile, another sports analyst, Sadek Mustaffa, who is also a senior sports science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara, said that NSAs not leveraging social media platforms will soon render them irrelevant in the eyes of sports fans.
“In this day and age, NSAs can’t afford to neglect the need for social media. They must prioritise upgrading their operations to ensure they remain relevant. Falling behind and staying outdated will only lead to being labelled as ‘dinosaur’ associations, moving backwards instead of progressing.
“Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh, should also play a key role in emphasising the need for NSAs to have a strong social media presence, and it should also be part of the evaluation under the government’s star rating system, which was recently launched,” said Sadek.
It was reported that the Sports Commissioner Office’s star rating system, which was established in September last year, is voluntary for NSAs.
Hannah has stated that the star rating could be used by NSAs to attract corporate sponsorship to run their programmes.
The star rating is based on the overall achievements of national associations’ athletes and officials, as well as their performances from a managerial and financial standpoint.
The rating is also based on the timeliness of document submission, including documentation associated with the NSAs’ annual general meetings, the minutes of other meetings, and official activity reports. – February 6, 2025