KOTA BARU, May 29 — The Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) questioned the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership’s (FMLLP) decision to not approve the registration of new import players citing unsettled wages of players.
Kafa secretary-general Datuk Ismail Md Noor said Kafa said the April wages for players in the Super League team was in excess of RM640,000, upfront payment for new signing Abou Bakr Al Mel and agent’s fee was more than RM300,000.
“It included arrears payment for Obinna Nwaneri and Margaro Gomis which was about RM50,000. Therefore, I wish to reveal the figures so that everyone can understand our situation. We will send a detailed statement of payment to FMLLP soon and a copy to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM),” said Kafa in a statement today.
It was reported that FMLLP would not approve Kafa’s request to register another import player — Syedi L Imam — because Kafa had submitted only one application which was already approved.
FMLLP said Kafa’s application would not be approved since the association has yet to resolve financial issues, especially wages owed to players.
Ismail said in view of Kafa’s financial situation, a number of cost cutting measures had been implemented to avoid issues of owing wages to players.
“Kafa are very careful when signing new players, especially foreign players, as a mark of respect for guidelines provided by FMLLP. Signing Abou Bakr from Lebanon did not exceed the remuneration offered for Mohammed Ghaddar and FMLLP had since approved the application.
“We would also like to appoint a Technical Director to assist Kelantan team’s head coach but it would not incur any extra cost because the money from a loan deal for Nik Shahrul Azim Abdul Halim to Negeri Sembilan would be used,” he said.
He said a number of players from Kelantan have been loaned to other teams as one of the steps to reduce Kafa’s operating cost. — Bernama
