State football bodies, clubs working closely for growth

The Sun31-05-2025

THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA (FAM) has stressed that ties between state football associations (FAs) and football clubs (FCs) have never been severed, but instead continue to be strengthened through a more holistic approach to ensure healthier development of football at the state level.
FAM president Datuk Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub said the perception that FAs and FCs operate separately is inaccurate, as most clubs are still owned by the respective FAs, and working relationships remain intact.
'It is sometimes just assumptions made on the ground due to current issues, especially with salary problems. People tend to think there's no working relationship between the FA and FC.
'But that's not true. In reality, most FCs are still under the ownership of FAs, so FAs remain responsible for the well-being of these clubs,' he said after a meeting with top leadership of FAs and FCs at Wisma FAM yesterday.
On the engagement session, Joehari expressed confidence that FAM's new approach has been positively received by all stakeholders involved.
'Very good. It has always been positive. That's why, as president, my new approach will involve more frequent meetings between FAs and FCs.
'We ourselves will go down to every state to meet and have dialogues with all of them regularly,' he added.
He also said that FAM and the Malaysia Football League (MFL) will continue to work closely and take a more aggressive approach to ensure that club management is carried out in a more structured and responsible manner.
'That's why we're having this meeting today, to ensure the involvement of both FAs and FCs. Together, they can combine efforts to make state football healthier. That is one of the key methods we will employ,' he said.
In a separate development, Mohd Joehari praised the outstanding performance of national young talent Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili, who impressed in Malaysia's friendly match against Cape Verde on Tuesday (May 29), proving that local players possess the quality to compete at the international level.
'Ubaidullah was named Man of the Match, which even he didn't expect, and neither did we. I believe the media is well aware of his development, which began during the national project squad when I was the team manager. It's truly a proud moment,' he said.
In the match held at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras, Harimau Malaya displayed strong fighting spirit to hold Cape Verde, the world's 72nd-ranked team, to a 1-1 draw.
Mohd Joehari also said that head coach Peter Cklamovski will soon make an announcement on the status of heritage player Rodrigo Holgado and whether he will be included in Malaysia's squad for the second Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10 in Kuala Lumpur.

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