KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — The enthusiasm of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to embrace naturalised players needs to be tempered with in-depth studies, including on the implications of its implementation, to avoid any long-term negative effects.
The proposal to use naturalised players surfaced after Malaysia’s football fortunes were in the doldrums for almost 30 years, during which time the national squad’s Fifa ranking plunged to 168th in April 2019 from 80th in 1993.
As Malaysia languished in the backwater, some Asian countries including South Korea achieved rapid progress and competed with the world’s best, leaving Malaysia a pale shadow of the force it used to be in the 1970s and 80s.
Stung by this, FAM, which is targeting to place Malaysia in the top 100 by 2026, made its early moves towards harnessing foreign talent by making Pahang striker Mohamadou Sumareh the country’s first naturalised player in July 2018.
However, National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail feels that more comprehensive studies should be conducted and the views of various parties considered before the quota for naturalised players is increased.
“The process of naturalisation for athletes is a policy that involves various parties and other stakeholders outside of the sports arena. This matter needs careful studies and planning, apart from having forums or discussions on the future impact of this process.
“Its effects are not only on sports but also from the aspects of security and welfare which involve not only the people of the host country but also the individual who will be given citizenship. Diplomatic ties should also be taken into consideration,” he told Bernama.
Ahmad Shapawi also voiced his concerns about problems that might arise from naturalisation, based on Malaysia’s experience in using imported athletes to strengthen its challenge in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
“We have adopted this approach before by bringing in three athletes and though it did make an impact on the sports, the returns were not as expected. Only Hidayat (Hamidon) and (Yuan) Yu Fang could be considered successful while there were many problems in the case of Irina (Maharani),” he said.
Hidayat, who won a gold and a silver in weightlifting at the KL Commonwealth Games, was an Indonesian-born athlete while walker Yu Fang and shooter Irina originated from China and Ukraine respectively.
Fifa rules stipulate that a footballer can represent another country before attaining the age of 21 or if he is already past the age limit he is eligible to play for another country provided he has not represented his country of origin before.
FAM deputy president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi was earlier quoted as saying that the move to bring in naturalised players would be implemented alongside three plans focused on uplifting the standard and quality of the national team in stages.
Mohd Yusoff, who is chairman of FAM’s Naturalisation Programme Committee, admitted that efforts were being actively made and that through a short-term plan, Melaka United player Liridon Krasniqi and Kuala Lumpur’s sensational striker Guilherme De Paula are close to following in the footsteps of Sumareh.
“We want the national team to be strong in every position, not to have naturalised players all over but in certain positions we need them. Sometimes this can fire up the spirits of local players to compete,” he said.
Commenting further, Ahmad Shapawi said among the major concerns was the question of welfare and management of athletes, especially when it involves young players which might force FAM and the government to cater to all sorts of requests.
“If we want to naturalise young players we have to bring in and give citizenship to the parents too...then what about their (parents’) food and accommodation? Have to provide house and land. This is what we call welfare.
“Apart from that, if they (naturalised players) meet with accidents which may prevent them from continuing to play, what is going to be their direction in life?” said Ahmad Shapawi.
Sumareh, who created history by being the first naturalised Malaysian national footballer, helped the Harimau Malaya squad under chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe emerge runners-up in the 2018 AFF Cup championship.
For the record, Qatar’s naturalised player Almoez Ali played an instrumental role in Qatar’s historic success of lifting the 2019 Asian Cup for the first time. The 22-year-old Sudan-born striker emerged the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals.
Meanwhile, even as FAM is busy embarking on the naturalisation path, there emerged calls for the Malaysian contingent to use imported talents in a bid to end the country’s gold medal drought in the Olympics.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has in principle welcomed the idea, which is seen as a last resort to boost the country’s sporting achievements. — Bernama
