KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has urged the country’s soccer authorities to undertake a sweeping overhaul of the sport’s ecosystem, emphasising comprehensive solutions rather than piecemeal fixes are required to address any problems.
“The issues in our football scene require more than just reactive measures. It’s time we look at the bigger picture and work together to rebuild a healthier and more sustainable football environment,” she told local media on Wednesday.
Yeoh did not specify what issues she was referring to, but Malaysian soccer has suffered financial hardships in recent years, leading to some clubs being penalised, relegated or withdrawing from the league. The Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) states that many professional clubs struggle to pay salaries on time.
The minister said she has asked the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) to perform an assessment on Malaysian football. “They have given me a report and we will discuss it with FAM (Football Association of Malaysia). We can’t look at one case only,” she was reported as saying by Malaysia’s Star newspaper.
“We have to see it holistically. In our future meeting, we will discuss with FAM on how to improve the current ecosystem. Not just at the national level but we want to see improvements in these clubs.”
The FAM did not immediately respond to Reuters calls seeking comments.
(This story has been corrected to clarify that the Minister was not directly addressing salary issues, in the headline and in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
