'Tis the season to go job hunting (The Sunday Mail)

IT'S that time of the season again when players go on a frantic search for
new employers and vice versa.
This search for new contracts has resulted in many controversial
incidents this year where lack of ethics on the part of players' and State
FAs' brought about the last-minute back-out from deals.
To avoid such problems next season, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) Local
Competitions Committee have required that both players and State FAs who
want to negotiate on a contract get a "licence" from them first.
FAM secretary-general Datuk Paul Mony Samuel said any party wanting to
hold negotiations will have to get written permission from the FAM which
will be valid for only one week.
He said the move was to protect both players and State FAs from
unscrupulous practices and to ensure everything is done professionally.
In the past, there were players who held negotiations with several teams
at the same time so to secure the best deal.
State FA`s were caught in disputes with players who sign letters of
intent with more than a team.
Sometimes State FAs are caught in disputes with players who sign letters
of intent with them only to sign up with another team later who offers
them a better deal.
Then there are players who even sign letters of intent with more than
one team.
"We want to avoid wrangles arising from negotiations between players and
State FAs," said Mony.
"As they now require a document to hold negotiations, players and State
FAs will only be conducting one negotiation at a time. And they'll be more
careful with their dealings."
"And if an agreement can't be reached during the one week time frame
both parties would have to discontinue negotiations or apply for an
extension if agreeable with both parties.
"If no agreement is reached after the given period, then the
negotiations are considered to have fallen through.
"This way, a player will only be negotiating with one State at a time.
With a time frame set for the negotiations, there won't be any delays or
dragging of feet.
"We hope the move will ensure that all negotiations are held
professionally and won't result in any disputes."
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