FAM boss to quit within a year

Football Association of Malaysia president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. - BERNAMA

PETALING JAYA: Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah announced on Monday that he would quit as Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president in stages.

Now, he is saying that he will leave within a year.

“Although I don’t want to disappoint those who want me to quit, I don’t want to leave a sinking ship to my successor. I don’t want to be seen as being unprofessional,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

“I will set the wrongs right and leave within a year, although my term only ends in 2018. I will hand the reigns over to deputy president Datuk Seri Affandy Hamzah as the interim president.”

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He also said in the statement: “My decision to quit as FAM president was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve taken. It was hard for me to quit without fulfilling my dreams for Malaysian football.

“However, the embarrassing defeat of the national team (by UAE) makes it impossible for me to stay on. Unfortunately, our competency is judged by the success or failure of the national team ... it might be unfair but it’s the harsh reality and I accept it.

“I have mentioned about my resignation before. On July 10, I had told the FAM executive committee that I would quit if we don’t qualify for the 2019 Asia Cup.

“The target was one of the key performance index that I set for myself, but the heavy defeat is too much for me and I had to leave earlier.”