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Malaysia has some 800 football coaches and there are not enough jobs for them – yet it is a problem the FA of Malaysia (FAM) relish.
While some of them snub grassroots teams and eye the glamourous sides, others bemoan the presence of foreign coaches in the leagues.
Of the 800 coaches, it is thought that 33 of them hold a pro licence while 141 and 516 trainers are in the A and B categories, respectively.
On the other hand, FAM say these disgruntled coaches are not taking up the opportunities available.
These FAM certified coaches are licensed to train teams in the elite to the lowest tier M4 leagues.
Football Coaches Association of Malaysia president B Satianathan says the glut of coaches should not be a worry as the jobless could train youth teams and get involved with M3 and M4 leagues, and grassroots development.
The opportunities for the coaches will widen next year when the FAM make it compulsory for state FAs to have the state league (M4) next year.
Of late, many of them complained they were out of work as teams preferred experienced coaches and that they had to compete with foreigners.
Their problem, however, is that they eye the so-called glamorous jobs with the 42 teams in the Super, Premier and M3 leagues.
They appear disinterested in coaching juniors much to the chagrin of Satianathan, who insists that certified coaches at grassroots, college and university level would help ensure quality players coming through to M-League and the national team.
“Coaches cannot expect to parachute into the highest level. Even if one has a top licence, he must go through the whole process,” said Satianathan, who took 14 years to become a national coach.
Still, it cannot be denied that several young coaches have found it difficult to break into the “elite” coaching bracket as the current lot are in demand and considered young as well.
The last time M-League saw a new breed of coaches was five years ago when the likes of Zainal Abidin Hassan, Dollah Salleh, Mat Zan Mat Aris, K Devan, Tan Cheng Hoe, Ong Kim Swee, Khan Hung Meng, Razip Ismail and E Ellavarasan ruled coaching.
They emerged when veteran coaches such as the late Chow Kwai Lam, M Karathu, Ifran Bakti and Wan Jamak Wan Hassan quit.
Among the new coaches in the M-League now are Terengganu FC’s Mohd Nafuzi Mohd Zain, Police FC’s Ishak Kunju and Kuala Lumpur’s Nidzam Adzha Yusoff.
FAM general secretary Stuart Ramalingam said the growing number of coaches was a “healthy problem” and that there was a pathway for them.
He said more coaches obtained the A licence because of increased courses by the FAM under an upgraded syllabus. The courses were previously steered by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Stuart said FAM were awaiting approval from AFC to conduct pro licence courses which would produce more coaches at that level.
From next year, all licence holders would be required to undergo refresher courses once every two years to maintain quality.
Stuart agrees with Satianathan that coaches should gain experience at various levels before moving up.
What about the foreign coaches in the football development M3 League?
Stuart said the matter needed review and M3 League teams would likely be barred from hiring foreign coaches.
That’s a step in the right direction as the M3 and M4 leagues are part of development of players, coaches, referees, and match officials.
Ironically, while citing lack of funds, some M3 teams have opted for foreign coaches, saying locals were costly.
Of the 18 teams in M3, four have coaches from England, Nigeria, Chile, and Poland.
In the Super League there are five foreign coaches, and two in Premier II. There are also foreign assistant coaches, and goalkeeper, and physical trainers.
Malaysian coaches should also seek jobs in neighbouring countries. Presently, only Raja Isa Raja Akram Shah is coaching in Indonesia.
Ex-players should stop thinking that life after their playing days end is just about coaching.
Football is an industry. They should explore other areas like being a manager, administrator, physiotherapist, nutritionist, pundit, television commentator and content provider.
Those moaning about lack of opportunities and dreaming of coaching top-flight sides should take a cue from Aminuddin Hussin, who has youth football at heart.
He has helped take many youth players to national level following his stints with the Bukit Jalil Sports School and the National Football Development Programme.
Wannabe coaches should get out of their comfort zone and grab any opportunity that comes their way, even if it means starting from scratch.
BLOG VERSION
Saturday Column
Tony Mariadass
A chicken and egg situation for
FAM
Presently, there is an excess of football coaches
but insufficient related jobs in Malaysia, but as far as the FA of Malaysia is
concerned, it is a problem they relish.
Of late many FAM certified coaches have been
complaining they cannot find jobs as teams prefer coaches with experience,
and if that is not enough, they also have to compete with foreign coaches in
order to land a job. And that's not easy.
At the same time, there are coaches who want skip
coaching at grassroots and junior levels and only want to coach M-League teams
as they feel that's where the glamour is.
It's true that many young coaches have found it
difficult to break into the 'elite’ coaching bracket as the current coaches are
still in demand and still considered young.
The last time M-League saw a new breed of coaches
hogging the limelight and these included Zainal Abidin Hassan, Dollah Salleh,
Mat Zan Mat Aris, Jacob Joseph, M. Paramsivan, K. Devan, Tan Cheng Hoe, S.
Balachandran, Ong Kim Swee, Khan Hung Meng, Norizan Bakar, E. Ellavarasan,
Nidzam Jamil, K. Gunalan, P.
Maniam, P. Sommusundram , Raja Azlan Shah and Razip Ismail.
These new faces emerged from the shadows when veteran coaches like late
Chow Kwai Lam, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, M. Karathu, Ifran Bakti, Wan Jamak Wan
Hassan, Ahmad Shafie, Reduan Abdullah and Mostakeen Omar felt they had enough
and opted to quit.
Among the new coaches who have emerged to guide M-League squads are
Terengganu FC’s Mohd Nafuzi Mohd Zain, Police FC’s Ishak Kunju and Kuala
Lumpur’s Nidzam Adzha Yusoff.
"We have about 800 coaches in various categories with Pro licence
to D licence registered with the Football
Coaches Association of Malaysia,” said president B. Satianathan.
"Coaches cannot expect to parachute into
coaching at the highest level. They have to go through the whole process even
if one has a top coaching licence. It took me 14 years to become a national coach,”
Satianathan disclosed.
FA of Malaysia general secretary Stuart Michael
Ramalingam said the growing number of coaches is a healthy problem and there is
a pathway for these coaches, who should embrace it.
“Firstly, we have had more coaches attain ‘A’ licence
because our upgraded syllabus has been endorsed by the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) for the ‘A’ coaching convention and thus we are able to
conduct more courses, unlike in the past when we had to wait for AFC to conduct
the courses,” explained Stuart.
Stuart confirmed that FAM have applied for
endorsement from AFC for them to conduct Pro Licence too.
“But we want to have coaches of a high standard.
Besides the A licence, we have refresher courses for A, B and C licence holders
who sat for their licence some time ago under the old content. While we
continue to accept their licence, from 2021 they must attend refresher courses
once every two years to validate their licences,” added Stuart.
As of for the Pro Licence, there are 33 who hold
this licence, while for A licence since 1993 there are 105. Two courses were
held after 2018 where 48 attended from which 36 made the grade thus bringing
the total to 141 coaches with an A licence.
For the B licence, as at 2018 there were 410
certified coaches while another 96 attended after that where it is believed 70
came through bringing coaches with a B licence to a total of 516. (verified
statistics were unavailable from FAM).
Stuart agrees with Satianathan that there is a
pathway for coaches to follow.
He said: “Coaches can start coaching at grassroots
level, youth teams in states and even in the M3 League for club teams. Then we
have M4 League which is the State League and while this League is non-existent
in some states or poorly managed, we will be making it compulsory for all State
FAs to have this league and we will be monitoring it.”
Satianathan added: “There are also coaching
opportunities with college and university teams who have their own league and
have gone big in the game. The presence of top coaches at these levels
will ensure we get only quality players coming through for the M-league and
national team.”
“There is bound to be a bottleneck in the
process of coaches moving to coach at higher levels but it is vital for them to
gain experience coaching at various other levels available to them,” Stuart
added.
However, when pointed out that even in the M3
League there were foreign coaches, Stuart confirmed that it will come up for
review and in all probability a ruling will be made where teams cannot hire
foreign coaches.
“The M3 and M4 leagues are part of our development
process for players, coaches, referees and match officials,” Stuart said.
Satianathan disclosed that his association had
requested for M3 League teams to hire local coaches, but were told they cannot
afford to.
"But they go on to hire foreign coaches. Local
teams must lend their support to local coaches,” said an annoyed Sathianathan.
It is learnt that four teams in M-League have
foreign coaches, while in Premier II there are two foreign coaches and in the
Super League five.
There are also assistant coaches, goalkeeper
coaches and physical trainers who are foreigners.
Stuart also said that Malaysian coaches should also
look beyond our shores and coach in neighbouring countries.
At the moment, only one name comes to mind of a
coach active overseas - Raja Isa Raja Akram Shah – who is coaching in
Indonesia.
“Football is an industry. Coaching is not the only option for ex-players
to move forward after their respective playing careers have ended,” said
Stuart.
"They should also explore areas like
being a manager, administrator, physiotherapist, nutritionist, commentator,
merchandising, content provider and other avenues related to football.”
Stuart also said some of the best coaches in the
world are involved in development and this should not be brushed off lightly and cited Aminuddin Hussin, an excellent development coach who
has been providing many players from his youth squad to national level.
Thus, wannabe coaches should stop moaning about
lack of opportunities and instead get out of their comfort zone and grab any
opportunity that comes their way with both hands and work their way up, even if
it means starting from scratch.
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