Former Argentinian international Pablo Aimar being unveiled as Johor Darul Ta
PETALING JAYA: Have the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) shot themselves in the foot by allowing two teams from the same state FA to play in the M-League next season?
Johor Darul Ta’zim I (JDT I) will play in the Super League while Johor Darul Ta’zim II (JDT II) will feature in the second-tier Premier League.
That’s fine ... for now.
What happens if JDT II were to win promotion (in 2014)? There will be two teams from the Johor Football Association (JFA) in the top flight in 2015.
Wouldn’t that raise concerns of un-Fair Play? Do FAM’s competition rules allow an affiliate to manage two teams in the same competition?
Local competitions committee chairman Datuk Afandy Hamzah, when contacted, said that he was aware of the scenario but refused to elaborate.
“It’s a good question ... and we have noted down this point,” said Afandy, who added that FAM would deliberate on the matter during the M-League briefing in Shah Alam on Friday.
The FAM will hold a three-day seminar for participants of the 2014 M-League season at a hotel here.
JFA president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim was reported to have said earlier this month that both JDT I and JDT II are the state teams and will remain under the JFA’s management.
This season, JFA had also managed two teams – Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) in the Super League and Johor in the Premier League. But this was different as JDT were a club side.
The FA of Selangor (FAS) and Terengganu FA (TFA) are the other affiliates with two teams each (state team and club) in the M-League. Their club sides are PKNS FC and T-Team and all of them featured in the Super League.
There are fears that the presence of two or more teams from the same state could lead to manipulation of match results.
JDT II will be no pushovers next season as they have a strong line-up that includes the likes of Mohd Zaquan Adha Abd Radzak and Singapore’s Shahril Ishak and Baihakki Khaizan.
Former national player Azmi Mohamed will coach JDT II.
The senior team – JDT I – will be led by manager-cum-chief coach Cesar Ferrando Jimenez of Spain. He will have stars like Pablo Aimar, Braulio Rodriguez, Safee Sali, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Hariss Harun and Safiq Rahim in the team.
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