Malaysia faces criticism over its handling of the crisis

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is going through a very difficult phase, and their approach to dealing with problems is not acceptable even to those within the organization.

Sports commentator Datuk Pekan Ramli has publicly criticized the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) regarding budget cuts for the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD) after FAM took over these units. According to Mr. Pekan, after assuming responsibility, FAM should proactively seek additional funding to cover any budget shortfalls instead of opting to reduce staff.

Previously, the newly appointed NFDP director Datuk Ong Kim Swee revealed that the coaching staff budget would be cut by approximately 30–35% next year, sparking rumors of a wave of coaches leaving the program.

NFDP was launched in 2014 with the goal of establishing a long-term talent development pipeline, starting from the Tunas Academy, District Training Centers (PLD), to the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD). However, the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports later transferred management of NFDP to FAM to streamline, improve quality, and professionalize youth training under the direct control of the national federation rather than the National Sports Council (NSC).

“For many years, FAM has wanted AMD and NFDP under their management. Now that they have taken over, they claim the budget is insufficient and decide to cut coaching staff. That really confuses me,” said Pekan. “Does FAM not understand the budget required to operate AMD and NFDP? What preparations did they make before taking over? Or did FAM think NFDP would come with its own funding?”.

Pekan emphasized that if there is a budget deficit, FAM must cover it themselves because reducing the number of coaches is not a reasonable solution as it could directly harm youth player development.

“NFDP and AMD are now FAM’s responsibility, and they must resolve any financial shortfalls. Cutting coaches is not an adequate answer because it will negatively impact grassroots football development”, he stated.

Pekan also warned that FAM’s reputation is being damaged, which could make it difficult for the federation to attract partners or sponsors for NFDP, especially after the controversies surrounding FIFA sanctions related to the falsification of documents for 7 naturalized players.

He believes FAM should not “tighten their belt” in youth development because insufficient investment will cause Malaysian football to increasingly rely on naturalized players in the future.

“Malaysian football needs to rebuild after the naturalization scandal, and investing in developing new talent is crucial if we want to avoid ongoing dependence on them”, Pekan stressed.

“FAM must seriously invest at this level and improve the training structure. NFDP has been around for over 10 years, and we need to see this program truly solving the talent shortage problem”, Pekan remarked. “What happens at the grassroots level will determine the future of Malaysian football. If cuts happen here, repairing the damage caused by the document forgery scandal will become even more difficult.”