PETALING JAYA: Football should not be used as a platform to cling to power, says Hannah Yeoh.
The Youth and Sports Minister stressed that only those with the proper management capabilities should be entrusted with running football clubs to ensure the continuity of the domestic league and safeguard players’ welfare.
She said the failure of some clubs to handle basic matters like salary payments and player welfare could seriously undermine efforts to attract sponsors to support the growth of football.
“If football is already struggling to secure sponsors, imagine how hard it is for other sports. Football has a massive following, so when it comes to convincing sponsors, they’re mainly looking at how clubs are run, whether salaries are paid on time and players’ welfare is taken care of.
“If you’re not capable, don’t get involved. Let others take over. The problem is, sometimes people don’t have the means but still want to hold on to power, and that prevents others from stepping in,” said Hannah.
At present, many teams in the Malaysian League are facing severe financial issues, with salary arrears continuing to plague players.
The situation worsened recently when FIFA placed seven Malaysian teams on its transfer ban list — Kelantan FC, Kelantan FA, PT Athletic FC, Sarawak United, Perlis, Melaka United FC, and Melaka United.
Terengganu were also on the transfer ban list but have since clarified that all outstanding payments were settled by the end of April.
Yeoh also commented on calls to boycott the domestic league in protest of Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) dominance, saying the idea was misguided.
Instead, she said other teams should focus on improving themselves to compete with the Southern Tigers.
“I don’t think it’s fair to blame JDT for being successful. The focus should be on catching up to their level — not boycotting or withdrawing just because they’re too good. That’s not a rational or appropriate response.
“As I see it, JDT have helped raise the standard of local football as a club and should be commended. Other teams should take this as motivation to compete with them in a healthy manner, not adopt the attitude of ‘if we can’t match JDT, we might as well not play’. That’s not the spirit of sportsmanship,” she added.
