PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s hopes of hosting prestigious tournaments such as the World Championships or Thomas Cup may remain on hold unless the Badminton World Federation (BWF) review what is seen as an increasingly costly business model.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh said the sharp rise in hosting expenses has made the association hesitant to bid for major events, stressing that a fairer balance is needed between BWF and host nations.
“For me, I think that for us (BAM) to bid for all these major tournaments, there needs to be a fair business model. There must be a balance between the host country and BWF. So we need to re-examine this,” said Kenny.
“Secondly, we need to ask why many major badminton nations are not submitting bids to host major tournaments. That is one of the questions BWF need to ask themselves.”
Kenny’s concerns are valid, as the BWF have yet to announce a host for the 2027 Sudirman Cup.
Although Malaysia was recently linked to stepping in to host this year’s World Championships following venue concerns in India, BAM downplayed the speculation.
Malaysia last hosted the World Championships in 2007, the Thomas and Uber Cups in 2010, and the Sudirman Cup in 2013.
Therefore, Kenny has urged BWF to review their current business model and compare it with the one used in the past.
“First of all, we need to understand that bidding for a major tournament requires a huge amount of money. So, we need to re-evaluate it,” said Kenny.
“It doesn’t mean that we want to make a profit. We are not an organisation focused on profit. But it also doesn’t mean that we want to go bankrupt.
“The business model has changed, so I think it requires deeper consideration. I’m not sure whether BWF or the relevant authorities have given it enough thought. What is the difference between the business model BWF are using now and the one they followed in the past?” he added.
