FAM crisis: National team preparations must not be disrupted - Analyst

KUALA LUMPUR - The administrative turmoil within the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) following the mass resignation of its Executive Committee members has raised various questions, particularly regarding its implications on the preparation and performance of the national team.

Attention is now focused on whether the management crisis will affect the national team’s short-term planning, the status of the coaching line-up and the continuity of player development programmes that form the backbone of the future of Malaysian football.

Local sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli said the collective resignation should not disrupt the preparations of the national teams, especially the Harimau Malaya squad, including training camps and international matches already scheduled in the FIFA calendar.

He said FAM still has a secretary-general and a secretariat carrying out their respective duties and responsibilities, allowing the management of the national team to continue as usual.

"All team preparations and planning from the coaching aspect are led by the Harimau Malaya head coach, who can deal directly with the secretary-general without having to go through a team manager, who is usually appointed from among FAM Council members.

"The team manager position for administrative matters can be appointed on an interim basis, either from among team officials or existing FAM staff. Therefore, national team planning should not be affected, although it may be slightly challenging at the early stage,” he told Bernama.

At the same time, Pekan hopes FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will take immediate steps to support FAM, in line with practices in other countries facing similar situations.

He said such measures would ensure that the involvement of the national team in various tournaments is not disrupted.

"Only after that can restructuring be carried out, including strengthening governance, ensuring integrity, reviewing the FAM constitution, and identifying weaknesses across the entire ecosystem before the administration is handed back to FAM and the new Council members,” he added.

For the record, Malaysia are scheduled to face Vietnam away in the final Group F match of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on March 31, making preparation and stability of Peter Cklamovski’s squad an absolute priority in the immediate term.

Malaysia, with a perfect record of five wins from five matches, currently sit at the top of Group F with 15 points, followed by Vietnam in second place (12 points), Laos in third (three points) and Nepal bottom without any points.

In addition, the national team will compete in the ASEAN Cup 2026, scheduled to take place from July 24 to Aug 26.

Malaysia, champions in 2010, are drawn in Group B alongside seven-time champions Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos, while Group A features Indonesia, defending champions Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and the winner of the play-off between Brunei and Timor-Leste.

Yesterday, all FAM Exco members for the 2025-2029 term resigned collectively and voluntarily with immediate effect as a principled and prudent step in light of the current situation, to safeguard FAM’s integrity and prioritise organisational responsibility over personal interests.

Following that, the AFC will assist FAM in conducting an internal assessment based on international benchmarks of modern football associations before its report is presented to stakeholders, particularly the FAM Congress. - BERNAMA