FAM NEEDS TOTAL RESET WITH NEW, SINCERE LEADERSHIP, SAYS EX-SEC-GEN 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) must have a new, more dynamic and robust leadership line-up in efforts to inject fresh life into national football, said former FAM secretary-general Datuk Seri Azzuddin Ahmad.

He said a comprehensive overhaul of the leadership of the country’s top football governing body has the potential to propel Malaysian football to greater heights in the future.

“FAM needs a 100 per cent reset with a new, young, dynamic, transparent leadership that genuinely works for Malaysian football.

“If there is no change, the future of our national football looks bleak. So I hope this collective resignation is done sincerely, and not merely for show,” he told reporters after attending the 2025 National Deaf Sports Awards here today.

He said this when asked about the immediate, collective and voluntary resignation of all FAM executive committee members for the 2025–2029 term yesterday.

FAM has been embroiled in a crisis since September last year after the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) confirmed that FAM and seven players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Jodo Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel — were found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).

Investigations found that FAM had submitted documents believed to have been falsified to verify the eligibility of the seven players, enabling them to feature in a 4-0 victory over Vietnam in Group F of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers here in June last year.

Following the decision, FAM was ordered to pay a fine of CHF350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (around RM11,000) and all were suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.CHF is the code for the Swiss franc.

On Monday, FAM announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had granted a stay of execution application filed by the seven players involved after the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected the appeals previously submitted by FAM and the players.

Meanwhile, Azzuddin, who is also an advisor to the Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf), questioned the appropriateness of FAM continuing to place its trust in FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman to run the daily operations of the governing body.

“I think what has happened clearly shows that his capability and credibility can be questioned,” he said.

He also described the presence of a special task force from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), assisting FAM in carrying out an internal assessment based on international benchmarks of modern football associations, as a major blow to the governing body.

“To my knowledge, within Southeast Asia, this may be the first time a football association has been monitored or guided by the AFC,” he said.

Yesterday, AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said the task force would be formed and led by AFC deputy secretary-general Vahid Kardany, together with several consultants, to conduct the assessment before tabling a report with recommendations for improvement to FAM.

Windsor said the findings of the assessment, which will be presented to the FAM Congress, are expected to form the basis for structural and policy changes needed to make FAM stronger, more professional and more relevant to the current demands of international football.  

-- BERNAMA