KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (FCAM) has denied allegations made by MYCoachingHub that the association is not doing enough to empower youth coaches in the country.
Previously, Scoop reported that MYCoachingHub founder Visnu Nair stressed that his company was conceived together with his late father, B. Sathianathan, a former national football coach, because FCAM was not garnering a good reputation among youth coaches in the country.
The committee, which comprises a total of 400 youth football coaches – mainly coaches from academies and grassroots levels – provides tactical masterclasses and lessons on pre and post-match interviews as well as football analytics.
Speaking to Scoop, FCAM president Datuk Ong Kim Swee said that his leadership has always maintained equal treatment for all coaches in the country without considering their backgrounds.
“For me, it’s not fair for the people in charge of MYCoachingHub to indirectly imply that we are neglecting youth coaches in the country. We at FCAM, together with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), have always been striving to provide the best for coaches.
“Even when I was the vice president of FCAM under the leadership of the late Sathianathan, we were always fair and just to everyone, ensuring that we never neglected anyone.
“I agree that we have received some issues from certain youth coaches regarding their concerns, but we can’t take any action without going through our parent body FAM and their football clubs.
“Some of the complaints given by youth coaches were only conveyed verbally and not in written form. If complaints are submitted in writing, we will definitely assist the youth coaches with whatever we can,” said Kim Swee.
Kim Swee further stated that FCAM is willing to collaborate with MYCoachingHub if its coaching syllabus and courses align with the requirements set by FAM.
“There are no issues with FCAM working together with MYCoachingHub in the future. In fact, we even signed a memorandum of understanding last year.
“The reason we have delayed our partnership for now is that the syllabus and modules they are planning to introduce for coaches are yet to be fully analysed and approved by FAM.
“If FAM approves, why not? We can definitely collaborate,” Kim Swee added.
Established in 1994 and falling under FAM, FCAM is currently the only association specifically dedicated to protecting and defending the rights of the country’s professional football coaches.
Under its president, Kim Swee, there are currently around 700 active members in the association.
Formerly the vice president, Kim Swee assumed the role of acting president following the passing of Sathianathan, who died of cancer last year. – February 28, 2024