PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Football League (MFL) are set to unveil their first foreign chief executive officer (CEO) in Italian Giorgio Pompilii Rossi (pic).
Rossi, who played a role in raising the popularity of the Spanish League in the past, will now chart the future of the MFL, which have been rocked by some controversies in the past few months.
The MFL were formed to revive the image of Malaysian football but instead, their reputation has taken a massive beating after they reversed some decisions on penalising Selangor for withdrawing from the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on May 10.
There was also the issue of clubs mired in financial issues. And despite the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), question marks still linger over the officiating of games.
Rossi will have his work cut out but MFL president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan believes he has what it takes to take the body forward and enhance the image of the country’s game.
“We are honoured to have Rossi for the MFL. He has the right background and we believe he has the abilities and expertise to lead as the new CEO,” said Ghani.
“However, he will only commence his role when his visa process is complete.’’
Rossi has not issued any comments after his appointment but only posted on his social media page: “Here we go.”
Rossi will replace Datuk Stuart Ramalingam, whose contract ended on Aug 31.
Stuart was not available for comments, but many in the industry, including Ghani, hailed his contributions in restructuring the Malaysian League, implementing the VAR and enhancing the commercial value of the league which has led to positive changes.
Selangor CEO Dr Johan Kamal Hamidon said that Stuart’s presence in the MFL over the past three years has brought many positive changes, especially in terms of commercial aspects and the generation of official broadcasting rights.
“In terms of the club’s commercial and financial aspects, I can say that Stuart has had a positive impact on us, generating significant income, particularly from broadcasting rights,” he said.
“And the presence of Astro as the official broadcaster has provided consistent funding for the club, with the allocation of broadcasting rights being so consistent since Stuart joined the MFL.
“He is a great loss to the football industry, and I wish him all the best.”
