Affiliation deadlock leaves FTAA athletes in limbo

2026-03-27 - 03:40

FTAA president V Pulainthiran said the unresolved affiliation issue has begun to undermine athlete pathways, funding access and the broader development structure. KUALA LUMPUR: The dispute between the Federal Territories Athletics Association (FTAA) and Malaysia Athletics (MA) has moved beyond sanction delays and into a deeper institutional deadlock. Athletes, technical officials and development programmes now sit in an unresolved affiliation impasse. The fallout has begun to cut into results, funding and access to national competition. At the centre of the issue is FTAA’s standing within the national structure. Strong turnout at FTAA’s junior meets reflects growing interest, but the absence of formal approval leaves performances in uncertainty. (FTAA pic) The Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletic Association, one of the country’s oldest athletics bodies, lost its affiliate status in March last year after constitutional changes under MA’s membership provisions. In response, stakeholders formed FTAA as a unified body representing Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. The Sports Commissioner’s Office approved its constitution on July 7, 2025, following consultations with the relevant parties. Officials circulated that approval to all involved, including MA, 11 days later. Eight months on, FTAA still sits outside the system. The association filed a fresh application for membership on March 16 this year, aligning it with MA’s constitutional requirements. MA has yet to respond. FTAA president V Pulainthiran said the lack of clarity had affected every layer of the sport. “This is no longer just about sanction letters. The real issue is that FTAA remains outside the structure, and once that happens, everything else starts to collapse,” he said. The strain is already visible. FTAA technical officials continue to run competitions, even as administrative directives push them to register under other states. (FTAA pic) Without affiliate status, FTAA-organised events struggle to secure approval from the national body. That gap has cast doubt on the validity of performances recorded at those meets. For athletes, the implications are immediate. Times and distances will not count towards rankings or qualifying standards, narrowing the route to national championships, selection trials and talent identification programmes. “You cannot ask athletes to train, compete and improve, and then deny them the structure that gives those performances value,” Pulainthiran said. The impact goes beyond results. FTAA has also lost access to funding under the youth and sports ministry’s sports matching grant scheme after failing to produce the required sanction letters. One development meet alone left the association RM40,000 short despite initial approval. “Our constitution was cleared and communicated, but there has been no meaningful follow-up. Meanwhile, our athletes are the ones paying the price,” Pulainthiran said. He said the pattern of delay has been consistent. FTAA submitted sanction requests in August last year, January this year and again in March. They drew no reply, while one received a late response that asked for additional documents not directly tied to approval, said Pulainthiran. A pre-Sukma competition scheduled for May still awaits a decision despite multiple submissions, including a revised application. “Taken together, the timeline points to more than a simple backlog. “If there is a process, then there must also be a timeline,” Pulainthiran said. “At the moment, there is neither clarity nor closure.” Champions of tomorrow share their moment with FTAA president V Pulainthiran (left), but are now left in limbo. (FTAA pic) Workarounds and wider questions The uncertainty has also spread to technical officials, adding another layer to the standoff. In a recent circular on its technical officials examination, MA excluded FTAA and directed its officials to register under other states – Selangor for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and Sabah for Labuan. FTAA has rejected that approach, calling it impractical and out of step with how athletics operates in the federal territories. “The system is treating a legitimate body as if it does not exist, and that affects development from the grassroots all the way up,” Pulainthiran said. “If officials are being reassigned to other states just to work around the problem, that only shows the problem has not been solved.” For athletes, the stakes are even higher. Major competitions such as the Malaysia Open Athletics Championships limit participation to affiliates of the national body. Without entry into that makeup, FTAA athletes risk exclusion regardless of their performances. That gap between activity on the ground and acceptance at the top has grown sharper in recent months. FTAA meets continue to draw strong numbers, particularly at junior level, where participation has surged. Schools and clubs have responded, and coaches point to rising standards driven by regular competition. But without formal acceptance, those efforts remain outside the official pathway. “Every delay has a consequence,” Pulainthiran said. “For us, it is lost funding, lost standing and lost opportunities for young athletes.” The broader concern now centres on governance. The Sports Commissioner’s Office has approved FTAA’s constitution. The association has filed its application in line with MA’s rules. Yet the process has stalled without explanation. That raises questions over accountability and decision-making timelines, especially when the outcome affects participation and development. “At some point, silence becomes a decision,” Pulainthiran said. “And right now, that decision is hurting the athletes.” “Until the affiliation issue is resolved, the fallout will continue. “On the track, athletes will keep running, jumping and throwing. Off it, their progress depends on a decision that still has not come,” said Pulainthiran. MA has not responded to queries.