SO what can we expect from the Malaysian Super League which kicks offtoday? Critics say nothing much as whatever quality there was has gone out thewindow following the FA of Malaysia's (FAM) decision to bar foreignplayers. It was, as is the case with most FAM decisions, forced on thenational body by certain affiliates who said they couldn't afford to hireforeigners. That should have the locals rejoicing as each team will now have anadditional three homegrown players strutting their stuff although criticsare not all that expectant. Malaysia's lack of quality was seen in the recent Asean Championshipwhere the national team failed to qualify for the semi-finals for thefirst time since 1998 and this has a lot to do with what is not beingdone in the states. FAM decisions have been ignored and one that has been convenientlyforgotten by some states is the need for players to pass a fitness testbefore a playing licence is issued. What it means is additional headache for the national team coach whenthe players report for the Asian Cup Qualifier training on Jan 14. It is a shocking development, although it is common knowledge that moststates can't be bothered about the national team. What is surprising though is these teams are not insisting on fitplayers despite knowing that Malaysian fans, regularly fed on a diet oftop quality football from Europe, expect a higher standard in the MSL. If the presence of foreign players helped hide just how unfit mostMalaysian players were, their absence is going to expose the truth and itwill not be a surprise if most teams play before near-empty stadiums. But the show, as they say, must go on and we can also expect theperennial problems to rear their ugly head sooner rather than later. FAM has yet to settle several disputes from last year over non-paymentof wages but it won't be long before new problems and allegations emerge. The grapevine is already abuzz that certain senior players areattempting to take advantage of this by recruiting members to fixmatches. It may sound incredulous, considering the MSL's poor following,but there still seems to be a betting market. Malaysian football has never recovered from the bribery crackdown in1994-95 and if the match-fixing disease is allowed to make a comeback, itcould well signal the end for football. We can also expect, given the credit crunch, more teams reneging ontheir EPF and income tax payments and there will be one or twoassociations taken to court as FAM has failed to deal with its errantaffiliates. Other than public rebukes, FAM hasn't shown any muscle in getting itsaffiliates to be more responsible in their management and as long as thisprevails, nobody is going to be worried about punitive action. Only FAM will be affected as certain foreign players have taken theirproblems to Fifa, which will only tarnish FAM's name. On the playing field, it will be interesting to see just how good Kedahare this year minus their three foreign players. While the back-to-back trebles in 2007 and 2008 were very much a teameffort, it is an undeniable fact that the three foreigners were hugelyinfluential. The MSL will also see the debut of two clubs - Kuala Muda Naza and KLPlus FC - and it will be interesting to see whether they will be able tocope with the challenge on the pitch as well as financially. The situation is drastic in some states with Perak losing 27 playersfrom last season's challenge with only national defender S.Subramaniamstaying put while Kelantan will be playing in the MSL via a backdoorentry. So prepare for yet another season of Malaysian football which promisesmore politics than quality action.
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