FAM’s exco steps down

2026-01-28 - 04:31

FAM and seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were penalised by Fifa in September after the world football body said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the eligibility of the players. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) executive committee has resigned with immediate effect in a bid to avert a Fifa suspension in light of the ongoing fiasco surrounding seven naturalised players. “I want to announce that FAM’s 2025-2029 committee has collectively and voluntarily resigned, with immediate effect,” FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi told a press conference at Wisma FAM today. “We are doing this to protect FAM’s integrity and reputation.” Yusoff said FAM general-secretary Noor Azman Rahman will continue overseeing FAM’s daily operations with the help of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). AFC general-secretary Windsor John said AFC had been invited to assist FAM conduct a comprehensive evaluation of several internal aspects, including administration, management and other football-related matters. He said the AFC will form a team led by AFC deputy secretary-general Vahid Kardany to carry out the evaluation and prepare a report aimed at strengthening FAM as an association. “The evaluation will involve benchmarking FAM against modern football associations to identify gaps and areas requiring improvement,” he said at the press conference. Windsor added that the AFC will conduct an analysis and table a report to stakeholders. FAM and seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were penalised by Fifa last September after he world football body said FAM submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility before Malaysia’s 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam in June. FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million) while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification. Fifa announced on Nov 3 that it had rejected FAM’s appeal against its sanctions, prompting the association to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. FAM yesterday said CAS had granted the application for a stay of execution submitted by the players, allowing them to continue their careers and take part in any football-related activities until CAS reaches a final decision on the appeal.