Malaysia needs another Hamzah Abu Samah for its world-class football dream and achievement
Under Hamzah's leadership, Malaysian football team twice qualified for Olympic Games
MALAYSIAN FORMER MINISTER, FORMER TEMERLOH MP AND THE CHARISMATIC SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR
Born in Kuala Lipis, Pahang on 5 January 1924 and died in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan on 4 September 2012, Tan Sri Hamzah bin Abu Samah was a Malaysian politician, lawyer and sports administrator who served as the president of Asian Football Confederation from 9 December 1978 to 1 August 1994. In 2006, he was conferred the FIFA Order of Merit for his contribution towards Asian football. He also one of the fourth Malaysian to join the exclusive club of AFC Diamond of Asia Award with Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Sultan Ahmad Shah and Sultan Abdullah.
Anger continues to build in Malaysia as football fortunes with naturalised players backfire
Following the mass resignations of governing body’s executives, critics and pundits believe addressing issues from bottom up is the way forward
A ham-fisted attempt to ramp up Malaysia’s footballing fortunes with foreign-born players has backfired, critics say, sparking soul-searching and calls to redouble the focus on home-grown talent.
Malaysian football was thrown into fresh chaos on Wednesday when the local governing body’s entire executive body quit, South China Morning Post wrote on Saturday, 31 January 2026.
It was the latest twist in a saga over seven naturalised players who allegedly used forged documents to join the national team.
FIFA accused the Malaysian football association (FAM) of using doctored birth certificates to claim ancestral links to the Southeast Asian nation – a prerequisite for national selection – when none in fact existed.
World football’s governing body suspended the players and slapped more than US$450,000 in fines on the FAM.
The FAM and players appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has granted a stay on the 12-month bans until the case is reviewed in late February.
Malaysia is football-mad, but the country has never qualified for the World Cup and is ranked No 121, one place above regional rivals Indonesia.
Long-suffering Malaysian fans had high hopes when football authorities launched the naturalisation drive in 2018, ahead of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh made his debut for the national side in 2018, and several other overseas-born players followed.
In all, 23 foreign footballers were granted citizenship by late 2025.
But Malaysia failed to qualify for Qatar 2022 and fared no better in trying to reach this year’s World Cup in North America.
Throw in the scandal and many in the nation of 35 million people are baffled and angry.
“This is extremely embarrassing,” Encik Ramkarpal Singh, a prominent lawyer and MP, said.
“When we see the development of football in this country dropping to this level, it’s very sad. This matter has affected the reputation and the good name of the country.”
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| Many believe that the focus should be on grass-roots development of home-grown talent. AFP Picture |
Critics and football pundits believe ending the dependency on foreign-born players and addressing issues from the bottom up is the way forward.
“Malaysian football wouldn’t be in such a predicament if there were structured grass-roots development involving all stakeholders,” Haresh Deol, an award-winning journalist, said.
“To move forward we must pay a whole lot of attention to the grass roots: getting the right coaches, playing enough matches and a proper infrastructure.”
Critics say there are too few full-time football academies for home-grown talent.
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| Critics such as youth football coach Shazwan Wong believe Malaysia lags behind its rivals. AFP Picture |
Shazwan Wong, who coaches teenagers at Kepong football club – an emerging club in the capital that competes in international tournaments – said Malaysian players lag behind their regional rivals.
“Every year there will be new players coming up to represent the national team,” he said.
“The question is: will they be good enough to compete in Asia against the Koreans, the Japanese? Are they able to compete on a world level against the Brazilians or Argentinians?”
“We won’t run out of players,” Shazwan said. “It’s the quality.”
Ivan Yusoff says that naturalised players do not fully appreciate what it means to represent the country.
“To me, this [naturalisation] doesn’t even make sense,” Yusoff, who coaches players around sprawling Sri Melaka, low-income flats a stone’s throw from the city centre, said.
"WHY DO WE NEED OUTSIDERS?"
Football has left an imprint all over these densely populated housing estates, which have produced at least eight national players including legendary former international striker Safee Sali.
“Why do we need outsiders? We’re the ones who want to make our country proud,” Yusoff said.
End©Permadu
| By Fauzi Kadir Chief Editor
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| Final editing and brought to you by Fauzi Kadir CHIEF EDITOR |
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PUBLISHED UPON APPROVAL BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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