PETALING JAYA: National Football Development Programme ( DP) director Datuk Ong Kim Swee supports calls to consolidate the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) fragmented technical leadership – but stressed that whoever takes on a unified role must be backed by the right experts.
Speaking following an audit by AFC deputy secretary-general Vahid Kardany, Kim Swee said he agreed that the women’s and national team technical directorships should fall under a single umbrella.
“I agree that the women’s and national team technical director should be under the same umbrella,” he said.
Kim Swee also quashed suggestions of a communication breakdown among FAM’s four technical directors – Tan Cheng Hoe (national team), Scott O’Donnell (FAM), Soleen Al-Zoubi (women’s team) and himself ( DP).
“I don’t know who said there is a communication problem, but Scott and I have no such issue.
“We always communicate on matters regarding the DP and grassroots development,” he said, adding that it was Kardany himself who raised the concern during the audit.
Kim Swee was keen to highlight the DP’s unique and wide-ranging mandate.
He noted that the programme – formerly managed by the National Sports Council – had never been fully handed over to FAM, leaving the DP involved only in technical matters for the time being.
The scope is considerable: 24 coaches and 37 administrators manage the technical aspects, facilities in Gambang and elsewhere require upkeep, and 197 boys at Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) are under the programme’s care.
“A technical director has to oversee all programmes and needs a lot of support in terms of staffing. Having one person overseeing everything can happen, but whoever takes on that role needs the right experts around him,” he said.
“Compared to the national and women’s team directors, an DP technical director also has to manage administration and daily operations.
“We are probably the only country with four technical directors.”
