AFF under scrutiny as three representatives elected into FIFA Council

DRIVING around Putrajaya, with its wide boulevard and pockets of greenery, can be a pleasurable experience, until my trusty 22-year-old Proton Iswara brought me to the headquarters of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) at Precinct 5 recently.

Much to my surprise, the five-storey building – identified as one of the elements in Putrajaya’s Soccer City – stood vacant.

Four years ago, the writer was part of the FA of Malaysia (FAM) delegation that toured the area. The tour ended at the AFF building which was almost ready for final inspection and the handover from the developer, pending certificate of completion and compliance (CCC).

This begs the question – do AFF who operate with a skeleton workforce, wish to occupy the building?

If I turn the clock further back to 2015, the guest of honour for the ground-breaking ceremony was the present Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al Mustafa Billah Shah, who graced the occasion in his capacity as the FAM president.

At that time, in the absence of AFF president, the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, vice-president Brigadier General Khiev Sameth took centrestage during the ceremony, saying: “The ground-breaking ceremony of the new Asean Football Federation headquarters is indeed a ground-breaking achievement. The AFF have a permanent place to call a home of their own.”

It was the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah who mooted the idea of a permanent headquarters for AFF, in his inaugural speech at the start of his term as the AFF president in 2011.

The late Sultan, as always, delivered his promise, much like the way he persuaded the Malaysian Government to allocate a land for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to construct their present headquarters in Bukit Jalil, inaugurated in 2000.

When contacted recently, Sameth, who succeeded the Sultan as the president in the AFF Congress in Siem Reap in 2019, clarified matters.

“The new AFF Headquarters in Putrajaya is in its final stage of rectification works and will be ready for occupancy soon.”

Speculation has been rife that AFF plan to relocate elsewhere but Sameth gave the assurance the regional body intend to preserve the Malaysian legacy.

Recently it was announced that AFF have renewed the deal with Sportfive as the exclusive commercial rights agency until 2032. There are those who say it was done without proper process which would have ascertained the true value of AFF’s flagship event, the AFF Championship.

Industry players claimed conducting a transparent tender process would have benefited the entire Asean football family and also removed plenty of the questions being asked today, including the perceived lack of check and balance within the system and how the AFF grant is disbursed to their member associations.

AFF’s development plans remain hazy, with their official website providing little clue as to what is in store for this year in terms of competition.

However, Sameth said AFF needed to to continue working with a proven, trusted and financially sound agency like Sportfive instead of exploring other options.

“It becomes more imperative that the AFF Council consider, among other things, when resolving the choice of commercial partner for our football properties, an agency that has a proven track record, strong financial stability and shared strategies that align with our business goals and corporate vision.

“The AFF Council made a considered decision at opportune time to not only renew our partnership with Sportfive for our flagship competition, the AFF Championship but also deepen our collaboration with them by expanding into new growth areas including the AFF U23 Championship and AFF Women’s Championship.

“The contract extension with Sportfive is for eight years, covering four events commencing in 2025 through 2032. This is similar to the current agreement covering the same number of events starting in 2017 and expiring after 2024,” he said.

For a region that is seen as developing, AFF have three representatives in the football’s supreme decision-making body, the FIFA Council, during the intervals of the FIFA Congress. They are Mariano Araneta Jr (the Philippines), Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin (Malaysia) and Kanya Keomany (Laos).

In an era where football and its administrators are compelled to observe the highest standards of good governance practices across the beautiful game, the AFF remain under greater scrutiny now, with Malaysia as one of their biggest stakeholders.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Star