More study needed on imports

Sumareh (centre) in action against Vietnam during the AFF Suzuki Cup final.

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.