BUKIT JALIL: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will not only be more selective in sending players to tournaments this year but will also be transparent about the value of each player’s contract.
BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz admitted that one of the biggest challenges at the moment is managing finances and securing sponsorship.
As such, Zafrul said he has several ideas that he intends to table at the BAM council meeting scheduled for today, including commercialising the association’s assets, particularly the star players currently in the national setup, to generate revenue for the governing body.
He also revealed plans to channel part of the funds from sponsors towards strengthening the development programme, rather than focusing solely on the existing elite players.
"We discussed development as a key area. In fact, earlier I spoke to one of our main sponsors, and they said they would rather put more money into the pipeline and development, instead of just focusing on the elite players.
So if there are good ideas, they are willing to support," said Zafrul when met by the media at the Axiata Arena during the Malaysian Open on Friday (Jan 9)
"For me personally, I will raise this at the council meeting because I'm very interested in ensuring that we are more transparent.
"At the moment, people do not really know how much the players are earning. Going forward, I want to be more open. If there are any contract issues, we will make known how much players are paid and the cost involved for each player.
"This will also help sponsors understand the situation better. To answer your earlier question on whether it is sustainable, it will be very difficult unless we secure more funding.
"That is part of tomorrow’s briefing on the 2024–2025 accounts.
"With an expected increase in costs starting this year, we need to look at how to commercialise badminton better, monetise our assets more effectively and tell the badminton story better, while at the same time allocating a bigger portion towards development."
Zafrul also explained that the selective approach in sending players to tournaments is aimed at improving Malaysia’s chances of winning major titles, such as Super 1000 events, after no Malaysian player managed to secure any of those titles last year.
Under the BWF World Tour calendar, there are only four Super 1000 tournaments, namely the Malaysian Open, All England, Indonesian Open and China Open.
"At the council meeting, we will also propose being more selective in sending players to the right tournaments.
"According to the report Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei showed me, many of our players are entering too many events. In fact, none of our players won a Super 1000 tournament last year.
"It’s not about the cost, it’s about the return on investment in the players. Tomorrow (today's) at the Council meeting, I will show exactly how much is being spent per player. Beyond salaries and bonuses, there are also costs for coaches and tournaments.
"We need to review all of this and then see what returns we are getting," added Zafrul.
