Malaysia loves its football but the sport is mired in unprofessionalism, poor administration and political problems.
Money and investment has poured into Malaysian football in recent years, making the Malaysian Super League (MSL) a popular destination for foreign players. With overseas stars banned in the competition until 2012, now Malaysian clubs are allowed to have four foreigners in their squads along with one Asian quota.
There was the hope that with the arrival of international stars, like former English Premier League midfielder George Boateng, that the MSL would take off and start to rival the J-League, K-League and Chinese Super League as one of the best leagues in Asia. There was also hope that it would help improve the Malaysian national team.
Sadly that has not happened.
Despite the privatisation of the league and increased TV revenue, the same issues persist.
Players are not paid regularly, coaches can be sacked at any time, the officiating is dire, there are allegations of match-fixing, the level professionalism is low and bureaucrats have too much power.
Problems in the MSL have filtered down into the national team. Harimau Malaysia, which has never qualified for a World Cup, is currently ranked 161st in the world by FIFA.
In 2015 the country was spanked 10-0 by the UAE. Most recently it has been beaten by Mynamar, Vietnam and Indonesia, and drawn with Afghanistan, Singapore, Fiji and Macau in the past 12 months.
No Malaysian players ply their trade abroad, limiting their development without exposure to new coaching and different standards.
Is Malaysian Football a marginalised community?
Foreign players often tell horror stories of their time in the MLS. Former Socceroo Robbie Cornthwaite, who spent two years with Selangor FA, wrote for the A-League on the state of professionalism at his club.
“If you are late to training, the punishment was to buy KFC for the whole team,” he said. “Not what you would expect from a professional football team.”
Defender Brent Griffiths, who played for Penang, told FourFourTwo: “In terms of football structures it was almost non-existent. The Malaysian players are very technically talented but lack a lot of other attributes. I think that's a cultural issue to be honest.
“Obviously most clubs bring in foreign strikers so on a personal note it was good to play against some good strikers and have a decent battle – and I mean battle because the refereeing was non-existent.”
Malaysian fans are incredibly passionate. TV audiences and attendances at the MSL are strong, and big derby matches can attract crowds of 50,000 or more. But this base of support, this interest, has not been translated into success either in the growth of the league or in the national teams.
There is no quick fix for Malaysian football, no easy answers. But all hope is not lost. Other countries in Asia, such as Thailand, have showed that improvements and developments can be made. The potential is there in this football-mad country of 31 million people.
Jon McKain played for Kelantan for two years after leaving Adelaide United. The ex-Australian international is still owed wages from his time in the MSL.
He believes that change at the very top of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), the game’s governing body, is the way forward. Tunku Sultan Ismail, the Crown Prince of Johor, has been shortlisted for the presidency of the FAM. There is hope that he can turn the sport around in a positive manner.
“That’s going to start something,” McKain says.
“It’s the whole system, the coaching, the players. The whole system has to change. It has to start from the top. There’s very, very good technical players, very, very passionate fans but that infrastructure. It needs a few strong-minded people to come in and say this is the way we’re doing it, and it’s going to happen.”
