Malaysia’s ineffective football naturalisation drive gets red card from critics

Different views: While Santokh Singh has pulled no punches when it comes to criticising the naturalisation of foreign players, B. Sathianathan (pic, below) is not against it.

KUALA LUMPUR: A drive to ramp up Malaysia’s footballing fortunes with naturalised players has failed, critics say, with the national team no nearer a first World Cup appearance and soul-searching about the state of the game in the country.

Football is among the most popular sports in the nation of more than 30 million people but at international level Malaysia are minnows – 154th in the FIFA rankings, a spot below tiny Andorra.