July 7, 2020 1:28 PM
Windsor John says Malaysian football management has stalled because it
has not gone professional.
PETALING
JAYA: Twenty-six years after going professional, the Football Association of
Malaysia (FAM) has finally moved to revamp its structure, putting an end to
football associations.
It is now
mandatory for states and clubs to privatise their teams and be licensed by the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The
deadline for privatisation is Sept 30, said FAM secretary-general Stuart
Ramalingam.
He said
applications for licences, which will be issued by FAM’s Club Licensing
Department and approved by AFC, must be submitted by Aug 31.
“Teams
failing to meet the deadlines will be banned from next season’s M-League,”
Ramalingam told FMT.
He said
the licensing and privatisation was part of the requirement for teams who
qualify for the AFC Cup and Champions League.
AFC
general secretary Windsor John said the licensing had been in force for the
last four years to ensure a professional structure in the game.
He said
FAM had asked for an extension every year, “but they seem firm now”.
John said
only Malaysia was stuck with an association structure, while other countries
were club-based.
He noted
that even Myanmar had shifted from government teams like army and police to
clubs.
In Asia,
teams have a club structure and are progressing because of the professional
approach, he added.
John said
the main income streams in professional football are sponsorship,
merchandising, advertising and branding.
Stuart Ramalingam warns state FAs that do not meet the deadlines for
privatisation and licensing that they will be banned from the M-League.
However,
in Malaysia it is the opposite as funding comes from government agencies or
officials, he added.
“This
practice is not stable because any change in situation will see the funds
unfulfilled or stopped abruptly.
“Presently,
only 20% comes from merchandising and other ancillary sectors.
“You
cannot have a professional team managed by amateurs. Football is a business and
it has to be managed like a business.”
Ramalingam
meanwhile said although Malaysia was among the first nations in the region to
go professional, the amateur approach was prevalent.
He said
there was no accountability with state football associations because of
leadership changes that often left debts like unpaid wages in their wake.
Previous
attempts by FAM to press for a professional setup were met with resistance by
state associations.
The
likelihood of this occurring again remains as FAM council members are also
state representatives.
It is not
immediately known how many state associations have responded to the licensing
and privatisation conditions.
Ramalingam
said privatisation attempts by several states had failed in the past because
they did it on their own without the involvement of FAM.
He said
professional management was now evident in JDT and PJ City.
“It’s now
or never and FAM is confident that professionalism will be achieved,” he said.
Tony Mariadass
The FA of Malaysia have taken a bold
move to finally put Malaysian football in the correct path to uplift the
standard of the game to a professional level after having gone professional 26
years ago, after semi-professional football for four years after it was
inaugurated in 1989.
FAM headed by president Hamidin Mohd Amin and general secretary
Stuart Michael Ramalingam have decided enough is enough and have made it
mandatory for State and clubs teams, besides having to be licensed by the Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) but also to privatised their teams.
The
licensing which managed by the FAM’s Club Licensing Department, will see
licences issued annually upon application, submission of all the relevant
documents and approval by AFC. The deadline set for all to submit their
application is August 31, 2020
As
for the privatisation, the deadline is September 30, 2020.
“Teams
failing to meet the deadlines, will face exclusion from next season’s
M-League,” Stuart told FMT in an exclusive interview.
“The
licensing and privatisation is part of the requirement for teams who qualify to
compete in the AFC Cup and Champions League.”
AFC
general secretary, Paul Windsor John, said the licencing has been enforced for
the last four years to ensure a complete professional structure and setup in
the game.
“FAM
have always asked for an extension every year, but this time around they are firm
and have asked all teams to comply,” said Windsor.
“The
club structure is the way forward for football in Asia to progress in a
professional manner and reach a high level. Only Malaysia has an association
based structure. All other countries in the world are club based.
“Even
countries like Myanmar had changed from the government based teams like army,
police etc to club structure.
“Just
look around in Asia, all have club structure and football is progressing
because of the professional setup and approach.”
Windsor
added in professional football, it is just like a business where income comes
from football industry related avenues like merchandising, advertisement,
branding, sponsorship and some other related areas.
“But
in Malaysia it is the opposite as funding comes from government agencies or
officials, which is not stable because any change in situation will see the
funds not fulfilled and stopped abruptly and only 20 percent comes from
merchandising and other football related industry,” said Windsor.
Stuart
added that Malaysia were among the first nations in the region to have gone
professional and were examples to many nations, but are still lagging because
of the amateur approach.
“You
cannot have a professional team managed by amateurs. Football is a business and
it has to be managed like a business,” stressed Windsor.
“With
State bases teams, there is no accountability because of change of presidents
or management, will see leave behind debts like unpaid wages and others which
the new line-up has to inherit.
“FAM
role is to promote the game and we do not want to punish anyone and try to
negotiate and manage. We have successfully managed to resolve a majority of the
cases with undertaking by the troubled FAs and fulfilling their obligation. But
when cases pile up or they do not fulfil their obligations, we punish the teams
by docking points and even in worse scenario bar them.”
Stuart
added that since Malaysian football has been ‘State’ based, they can exist like
anywhere in the world, but their roles will be, mainly in development.
“For
instance Manchester City is an FA. They are the governing
body for football in the centre of the city of Manchester and are responsible
for the governance and development of football at all levels in the area.”
Founded in 1884, Manchester FA is
responsible for providing the support structure that enables players,
volunteers, coaches and referees to develop individually or as part of a club
or league.
More than 400 clubs, 2200 teams, 25
Leagues, 30,000 players and 650 referees come under their jurisdiction.
What AFC and FAM are intending to
achieve in nothing new in a professional setup, and has been advocated in FAM
since the days of former general secretary, the late Datuk Paul Mony Samuel.
However, the State FAs have been
resisting the move and thus crippling the progress of the game.
However, all that will be a thing of
the past, as FAM are serious to move forward, although late, but better late
than never.
“Teams who do not attain licences or
privatise will face exclusion from the M-League next year,” warned Stuart.
But whether this is enforced is left
to be seen as the Council members are State FA representatives and could
continue to oppose.
But Stuart was optimistic, as many of
the States and club have already complied or in the process.
“Our Club Licensing Department staff have been going to every
State FA to assist them make the change to privatise and also to submit their
licensing documents. While some have been slow or dragging their feet, we have
many who have responded positively and near completion of meeting all
criteria,” said Stuart without wanting to reveal numbers.
“We are
confident that we will have everything in place be ready to move forward
finally.”
Stuart
explained that under the FA to FC privatisation process there are 7 steps and 3
options.
The seven steps
are:
·
Pre-approval application to FAM from FA with
things like draft club name, logo, letter of no objection from FA, minutes of
AGM/EGM etc
·
Registration with ROC
·
Brand name/logo/club name registration with
Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO)
·
To obtain a license from Sports Commissioner’s
office to participate (Sports Development Licensing Regulations 2019)
·
Contract of Assignment – FA to FC
·
Endorsement from FA – The FC becomes an
affiliate to FA
·
To get written approval from FAM and AFC
As to ownership of the FC it can be:
·
Fully owned by FA (separate operations/
administration
·
Co-Owned – Special Purpose
Vehicle(SPV)/Company with commercialisation value
·
Full Separation
Stuart said teams like JDT and PJ City are
already examples of teams who have already moved in this direction and proof of
their professional management is clearly evident.
When pointed out that in the past several
State FA had tried privatisations and failed, Stuart said: “Then it was done by
the State FAs without FAM being involved. Now we are involved and have set
strict guidelines and monitor.
“It is now or never and FAM is very serious
about it and confident that we will achieve what we have set out to do which
long overdue,” said Stuart.
Ends.
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