HAVING weathered numerous storms before, one gets the impression that the FA of Malaysia feels that it is only a matter of time before the criticism that is being hurled at it goes away.
After all, it has happened before as FAM has, somehow, always survived but one gets the feeling that this time, there is no escape. FAM has to change for if it doesn't, then it is staring at the end of Malaysian football. If there was one aspect that always saved FAM before, it was sound governance. Sure, the national team had become a pale shadow of what it once was but that was masked by the fact that FAM had several programmes in place which promised a better future.
That, however, doesn't seem promising based on feedback. The future, they say, is at the grassroots but experts say all Malaysia has to rely on for the future are several 15 and 16-year-old players in the Bukit Jalil Sports School. The rest, and this includes those playing in the Education Ministry Cup, lack basic skills and this is alarming considering that we are talking about 16-year-olds. The mini rise that saw Malaysia win a silver in the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games turned out to be a false dawn and, should FAM still believe otherwise, that point was driven home in the Asean Championship last year when Malaysia failed to make the semi-finals. Several of those who featured in the 2001 Sea Games played in the Asean Championship and they are products of numerous expensive programmes with the end result still being mediocrity. What makes the situation alarming is that FAM's administration, which was once the best among sports associations, is also no longer what it used to be. The on-going spat in the referees department is proof of that and the 12-month suspension of Felda United coach Reduan Abdullah on Friday goes further in showing that FAM is losing touch with reality. Is suspending Reduan going to stop others from criticising FAM? The disciplinary board made it a point to say that Reduan had gotten his facts wrong but how does that explain the results of the national team's fitness test which only three players passed? Reduan has been silenced but what is FAM going to do about the alarming lack of quality in the M-League? How is it going to attract sponsors when the fans are staying away, even from the historic Malaysia Cup? Even before these, and numerous more, problems are solved, FAM is already planning on restructuring the M-League and word is, the doors will be reopened to foreign players. Why were they shut in the first place? Malaysians are desperate to see football saved but how is that going to happen when FAM's every step forward is followed by three steps back? This time, the storm won't blow away - By Christopher Raj
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