KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) pledges to make full use of the government allocation given to the footballing body by focusing more on elevating the performance of its 12 national teams.
The governing body’s response came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a substantial boost for FAM, allocating an extra RM5 million in funding to improve the national team based on the recommendation and consideration of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
The additional funding follows the commendable performance of the 130th-ranked national football squad in securing a 3-3 draw against the 23rd-ranked South Korea in their final Group E match of the Asian Cup.
Despite finishing the tournament with one point and facing setbacks with a 4-0 loss to Jordan and a 1-0 defeat to Bahrain, the draw against the Asian powerhouse marked a notable achievement for Harimau Malaya.
Speaking to Scoop, FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram said that the governing body would discuss the distribution of the exact amount needed for its national football teams.
“First and foremost, we thank Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Hannah Yeoh for allocating RM5 million to FAM for football development. It shows their commitment and trust towards our efforts in uplifting the nation’s image through football.
“This allocation is a great boost for us and aligns with our plans to do more in bringing up the performance of the national team.
“We are waiting for FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin to return from Doha so that we can have a council meeting on how we are going to spend the money, especially on ways to segregate the funds based on the national teams that we already have.
“We will ensure that we will spend the allocation wisely, most probably using it for player development and talent identification programmes. I can’t guarantee anything for now, but FAM will make a formal announcement on our plans very soon,” said Sivasundaram.
FAM currently has a total of 12 national teams under its purview, including the men’s national football teams (U-13, U-16, U-19, U-23, and senior team), women’s national football team (U-16, U-19, U-23, and senior team), men’s and women’s futsal teams, and the men’s beach soccer team.
The National Football Development Programme, responsible for the development of the country’s youth players, does not fall under the purview of FAM.
Meanwhile, Sivasundram also responded to netizens’ criticisms of FAM not deserving a huge allocation as Malaysia did not qualify for the knockout stages of the Asian Cup.
Previously, Scoop reported that FAM was hoping for Harimau Malaya to at least qualify for the round of 16.
“I’m aware of the criticisms that we are receiving, as netizens tend to compare us with our neighbours such as Indonesia and Thailand, as they managed to qualify for the next round and we didn’t.
“Netizens should calm down and appreciate the fact that we have created a benchmark by drawing against South Korea, one of the top-30 teams in the world and the second-best team in Asia after Iran (world number 20).
“It’s not easy to achieve the result that we have achieved. In situations like this, netizens should be proud of our achievements instead of comparing us with other nations that have consistently been in the tournament.
“We qualified for the tournament on merit after 42 years, and this is a stepping stone for us. We aim to qualify for the Asian Cup tournaments consistently after this,” Sivasundaram added.
Indonesia, currently ranked 146th in the world with an average squad age of 24, qualified for the knockout stages of the ongoing Asian Cup after acquiring three points in Group D.
The Garudas, making their fifth appearance in the tournament, will play Australia in their round of 16 match tomorrow.
At the same time, the 1972 edition’s bronze medallists Thailand, making their eighth appearance in the tournament, will take on Uzbekistan on January 30 in the last 16.
Malaysia are slated to face Oman home-and-away in March before confronting Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan in June, with both home-and-away fixtures shaping their journey in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. – January 27, 2024