What can stop this root?

1970's till 1980's it was the heydays of Malaysian football. We qualified for the Olympics twice but due to unforseen circumstances, the Malaysian football team did not take part in the '5 Ring'
comprtition. We were once force to be reckoned with. Being one of the best Asian teams, we managed to beat countries like The United States of America and South Korea. Tournaments like the SEA games and The 'Once Famous' Merdeka Tournament used to be Malaysia's famous playground.

During this time, many talented players have emerged. We had players who were master's in their respective positions. Footballing legend and goalkeeping marvel, the late 'Spiderman' R.Arumugam used to be feared by many strikers in Asia. Striking legend, the late Mokhtar Dahari used to be called as 'Maradona of South East Asia' and was sought after by many European clubs. Other players such as Dato Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh and Serbegeth Singh( Shebby ) were players revered by many of our people. Their skills, determination and passion to represent their country were of examplery.

1990's and 2000's? Many of our football enthusiast had a lot expectations. The change from a semi- professional league to a professional league and the exposure of few of our talents in Europe raised the expectations of many people. Many expected our current national football team to emulate the 70's and 80's but it happened otherwise. The National team form started to dip and in 1994 the corruption case among football players in Malaysia. Last year, our National team bowed out of the Asian Cup in a humilating manner losing big to China and Uzbekistan. Now, the '1994 incident' is being repeated all over again. What has happened?
How did all this happen?

Those days, FAM was runned by the Sultan and assisted by few people who have experience in handling footballing issues. However, this time around they are assisted by politicians such as Khairy Jamaluddin, Rembau MP and the son-in-law of Y.A.B. Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Many people thought with him coming, they might be changes. It is still the same! The only good thing is that he manages to get a lot of corporate figures to sponsor them financially. Those money will not help, Mr.Khairy. Many politicians lack the understanding of football. Look at South Korea and Japan, their associations are runned by people who have technical and tactical knowledge on football. Those days we used to beat them but now losing respectably to them will be an achievement for us.

The league? We have one of the most 'weirdest' league in Asia. Every season there will be format changes. Look at Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, they have a very improved league system and many of their clubs have done well in continental tournaments. For example, BEC Tero Sasana were the runners-up of the first edition AFC Champions League. Singapore clubs such as SAFFC and Home United have performed well in the AFC cup this season. What about our clubs? This year's representatives for Malaysia, Perak and Kedah were humiliated by both the Singaporean clubs. Plus, Perak was thrashed at home. The league has not helped the development of our football. The constant change of format will only affect the national squad development. People have also realised that our league are not up to par. They prefer other leagues. Those days, people would fill up the seats in stadium to watch league games but now many stadiums are empty. The publicity have also been bad. The current corruption saga have tarnished the reputation of this league. Will there be change on the cards? I am sure there will be another change in format. It will not help if you change it everytime!

Many football enthusiast around Asia have said that Malaysian players those days were passionate when donning their national colours. Players would play their hearts out to make sure they would carve a win. South Korea have followed this suit and look at their National squad now. Now, what happened to our players?. The Asian cup debacle was one good example. We thought with home support they would cause some shocks but it happen otherwise. This really irks me, as we had players who had stints in Europe but not being able to perform. Why did this happen. This days professional players play football not for the beauty of it but for the money they earned. Players will always demand incraese in pay and bonus but they do not perform. Ego among players is a another contributing factor. There a players who think that they are superstars and expect them to be treated the right way. They expect people to worship them. I am sorry this will never ever happen if this current sorry state of football continues. People say understanding among people is very important in carving out success. We do not see this in our national team. Lack of harmony and misunderstanding on and off pitch affect players performances and the match outcome will surely be dissapointing.

Those days the sports ministry would usually give their fullest support in developing football. This time around, football has been neglected. Sports such as Badminton, Lawn Bowl, Bowling and Squash are given emphasis. Yes, the government have aided the development of football in our country but it is not enough. It needs more. The FAM should not shoulder the whole responsibility, the Ministry should also have some responsibility. While the Sports Ministry have not been taking much reponsibility, the Education Ministry have decided to have academies and leagues for young aspiring players. The sports Ministry should be ashamed of themself! Private sectors have also taken steps to improve our football. TV3 for example have searched many aspiring footballers in their reality show 'MY TEAM' and 'Soccer Kids'. The ministry should follow this kind of examples and improve the current state of football.

Will this current sorry state of football end. I hope so. We hope to see the next 'Santokh', 'Mokhtar' and 'Chin Aun' in the future. The FAM, public, players and The Sports Ministry should realised the fact that our football have been on the downfall for the past few years. We should stop this? Preventive measures should be taken before 'rice becomes a porridge'.