KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has slammed critics who question the governing body’s need for additional government funding to cover operational costs.
Its president, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, was responding to critics, particularly former FAM treasurer Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim, who believed that FAM, having received grants from FIFA, should not seek funds from the government.
Previously, Noor suggested that smaller national sports associations may have more urgent funding needs than FAM as they were already “cash-rich” from grants received from FIFA.
“The budget required to run FAM is not as modest as some people think. We not only have to take care of the Harimau Malaya team but also manage the futsal team, women’s team, and under-23 team. It’s not easy to run the show with a low budget.
“It frustrates me when people assume that we are misusing the grants allocated by FIFA. FIFA has been generous to us over the years through their Forward Development Programme, and they have been assisting us even before 2016 through their Financial Assistance Programme.
“Critics should not act as if we are the only country receiving assistance from FIFA. The world body supports not only us but all of its affiliates,” said Hamidin when met after his birthday celebration and Majlis Doa Selamat in conjunction with the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers hosted at Wisma FAM last night.
It was reported that FAM received approximately US$7.6 million (RM35 million) through FIFA’s Forward Development Programme from 2016 to 2022.
Hamidin stressed that the allocation FAM gets from FIFA and the government is not enough to cover its operational costs of running the football organisation.
“People must understand that we receive only a small percentage of financial support.
“Even the government doesn’t support us all the time, and we usually rotate with the additional grants that we receive from the Asian Football Confederation and sponsors such as Bank Islam and Malaysia Airlines. We need more grants to progress further.
“It’s not cheap for us. We need to pay head coach Kim Pan-gon and his coaching team in US dollars, and the exchange rate has increased.
“When we consider hiring top foreign coaches, we have to compensate them accordingly. So, for those who criticise us, I hope they understand our struggles before speaking negatively behind our backs,” added Hamidin.
FIFA, projected to earn US$11 billion from 2023 to 2026, stated under its FIFA Forward 3.0 programme that each member association would receive approximately US$8 million over four years.
In 2022, then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob awarded RM10 million to FAM to assist with operational costs following the Covid-19 pandemic. – December 27, 2023