Malaysia in World Cup?

[Chia Hak Soon]

Have we ever to dream that one day Malaysia will be qualified for the next world cup. Afterall those were the days during the late sixties and early seventies that we have the Malaysia Cup and Merdeka Cup and we beat opponents like Korea, Japan, Burma and Singapore.
Korea and Japan have been to the World Cup, while we are still happy with our own league ( sorry I forgot what league and cup as I never watch and cannot even remember any of our current national player ). unlike those days I still remember, Soh Chin Aun, Santhok Singh, Mokthar Dahari, Arumugan,Shukor Salleh, etc.

When there was a match between Singapore and Malaysia , it was like a War match and every citizen , bumi or non bumi was behind Malaysia. When our standard detiorated and lost to singapore, we decided to keep singapore out of our invitation. Today , we can only dream, What happened , my guess is as good as yours. So enjoy EPL, Serie Italy, etc and the World Cup.

[chin_wan]

There is 1 element missing in the M League which kept us being competitive like Singapore. The money factor. If you look at all the successful sports league, money is the main driving force. NFL, NBA, EPL even the S League, there is a business element there which means these leagues have money to help promote their games.

So when Malaysia stopped all advertising by the cigs companies, less money is poured into the sports. Without these advertising money, I think the football industry will have less muscle to get the crowd needed to develop the sports talent.

So how do we get these money? Sports betting. Make football betting legal and start collecting taxes. This way money collected from these taxes can be put to use to promote the sports and develop the talents required. Afterall, people are already placing bets illegally to "bookies" on the sports so why not make it legal and start collecting taxes for it. This way, it's a win-win situation. The sports get the financial muscle it needs, the public can bet in an environment that is regulated by the authorities (not by some ah longs) and hopefully get Malaysia back on track in the worlf of sports.

[alexhay]

Even before the ciggie ban, Dunhill pump in a lot of money to FAM. If I am not mistaken is about RM30 million per year...where are all the money gone too ? i dont see any improvement in malaysia football.

If Dunhill were to give RM30 million to an African Nation, they might bring back the world cup for you...and even win the African Nation Cup

[chin_wan]

^^ Actually, more like RM200mil a year. I know a source.

Anyway, it seems like there is no hope eh? Even if we legalise gambling?

[Chia Hak Soon]

Talking about money and sponsors, it is true that the Beer and cigarette companies stop . I remember that to counter this Sports TOTO was given the licence to sell only 4/49 lotto games and this falls under the sports ministry. The funds and profit collected was for the country's improvement of sports, that is why it is call SPORTS TOTO.

Now it is privatised and expanded to sell 4D,5D,6D and 6/42, and 6/49. I wonder how much money goes to sports and probably some officials sold for a lumpsum to Berjaya. Maybe TDM should know about this as it is during his reign that our sports toto become privately owned.

[isarahim]

I think the most important reform must be to allow a league of independent and privately run clubs.

We need:

Petaling Jaya Wanderers
FC Ampang
Bayan Lepas United
JayBee Silver Bullets
Subang Bangers
Ipoh Forest
Temerloh Tigers
Butterworth FC

If we stay with politically run state-clubs, we will never get anywhere.

[Chia Hak Soon]

Isa Rahim, you are right, that is why our Serbegeth Singh is starting "My Team" supported by Khairy. It is a good start and hopefully we can have a club without political influence.

[bslee]

supported by Khairy.

Khairy huh?..tell me he ain't no politician. Umnoballers FC in the making??
Somehow, Football associations nor BAM have a good management..more like an absolute military junta (& politikus behind the boardroom door)..which is possibly a reason they never progress or reach new heights.

[penangkia]

Have we ever to dream that one day Malaysia will be qualified for the next world cup. Afterall those were the days during the late sixties and early seventies that we have the Malaysia Cup and Merdeka Cup and we beat opponents like Korea, Japan, Burma and Singapore.
Korea and Japan have been to the World Cup, while we are still happy with our own league ( sorry I forgot what league and cup as I never watch and cannot even remember any of our current national player ). unlike those days I still remember, Soh Chin Aun, Santhok Singh, Mokthar Dahari, Arumugan,Shukor Salleh, etc.

When there was a match between Singapore and Malaysia , it was like a War match and every citizen , bumi or non bumi was behind Malaysia. When our standard detiorated and lost to singapore, we decided to keep singapore out of our invitation. Today , we can only dream, What happened , my guess is as good as yours. So enjoy EPL, Serie Italy, etc and the World Cup.

I think alot of this is tied up with the economic situation of the country. In the era of the Merdeka Cup where Korea, Burma, Sing etc participated, Malaysia was a football power in the region.Malaysia;s economy was also stronger than most of these countries. Japan's economy was only beginning to emerge and their team was no major threat. Thailand, Indo etc. were "div 2" so to say.
The rest is history when others progress... and while Malaysia's economy did not go downhill, it was far lagging behind. Look at the economic growth of Korea and their football. Singapore is a little dot, yet it's team can beat ours. Burma was a football power when they were economically good..but see what happen now.
Malaysia's football will remain mediocre just like our economy relative to countries of the Merdeka era.
Of course, with the interferance of glamour seeking politicans, matters can only be made worse.

[kevin23]

It partly down to the money pumped into the leagues.But in the end it bores down to the players attitude.For all i know,malaysian players are a bunch of lazy people.They just want the easy way out and they dont have the drive to suceed and win.For them ,getting into the national team is a big thing but i think many of them dont deserve their places in the national team.I have been to a few matches with featured our home team against the indonesian team.There was a guy,i cant remember what his name was,but he was in the yellow of malaysia,when the ball came near him,he just walked around and there was such a sign of obvious laziness in him.So no matter you put billions into the game,if the players dont change their attitude,Malaysian football will be just like it is.PATHETIC

[cskok8]

I think we have the best football (soccer) league in the world. After all we have a SUPER league whereas most countries can boast at best a PREMIER league only.

[alex28]

we'll have to see the next generation then

[isarahim]

Malaysia's football will remain mediocre just like our economy relative to countries of the Merdeka era.

I disagree entirely.

The amount of money Malaysian private and GLC industry plows into mass marketing --- we have more of these huge ugly roadside ads than any other country I've been to bar parts of India, on towers, on bridges, on LRT, on abandoned buildings etc etc etc --- there should be more than sufficient promo appetite to feed a complete privately run and professional league.

[isarahim]

So no matter you put billions into the game,if the players dont change their attitude,Malaysian football will be just like it is.

It's not a matter of the amount of billions put in. It's a matter of *how* they are put in. Attitude is directly driven by incentives.

One should always remember that teams in the leading leagues in the world, though we don't hear so much about it, puts as much emphasis on the B, C and junior teams as they are on the top flight.

[Teeque]

Its partly down to the money pumped into the leagues.But in the end it bores down to the players attitude.For all i know,malaysian players are a bunch of lazy people.They just want the easy way out and they dont have the drive to suceed and win....
....So no matter you put billions into the game,if the players dont change their attitude,Malaysian football will be just like it is. PATHETIC

kevin23 nailed it right on the head on why Malaysian football, and sports in general, are failures. The kopi-o and teh tarik Malaysian culture hv spun this generation of Malaysians where taking the easy way out and cutting corners are a norm for them. Of course, there is one (yep I strongly believe so), only one exception - in Nicol David. But the rest of the sporting fraternity can be categorised as failures, no less.
The money for the sports is definitely there although not in abundance to the tune of billions but it has been made available. Otherwise, how can we maintain the many sports authorities and associations in this country, their politician officials, their many world class coaches and trainers, the international games and tournaments, 'playing' tours abroad and locally, the 'superstar' players status and the reward schemes, even for mediocre achievements? How do you explain officials stubbornly hanging on to their exclusive posts and positions without a bitter fight and feud when faced with dissent and opposition? Or when a world class foreign coach knows best and wanted to implement wholesale changes to the squad, every 'priviledged' players mutineed against these coaches? In the case of football, many world class coaches with international credentials hv come and gone but still the national squad has shown no improvement. So are the other well known Malaysian team sports. We hv the money available for 'Project this and that' plus the best (and expensive) coaching and support staff and still, there's only failure to show. Yea, we may hv won a tournament or two and maybe unearthed a new talent or two but the achievements hv not been consistent. There were no paradigm shifts in the levels of achievement and sporting success borne out of these various 'Projects' all these years to the point that nations considered sporting minnows in the past hv either come up on par with us or hv already overtaken us. Still, the sports persons and officials are a contented lot so long as they remained in their 'star' status and positions in their national setups and received their 'dues and perks'.

So, the money is available. And so are the meddlings and interference but this also happens everywhere. Ultimately, its up to the player himself - to become the best in the world or just a jaguh kampung would suffice?