KELANTAN AT RISK OF BEING DEMOTED
Kafa unlikely to settle debts amounting to over RM2.5 million
AJITPAL SINGH ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my
ONLY Kelantan are at risk of not obtaining a club licence to play in the Super League next year due to their outstanding debts.
As it stands, only Darul Ta’zim, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Selangor, T-Team and PKNS have been granted a club licence.
However, applications from Kelantan, Felda United, Sarawak, Melaka and FA Cup champions Kedah were rejected by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) club licensing body on Thursday for failing to comply mainly over financial-related obligations.
The five teams have since submitted supporting documents to FAM’s appeals committee for consideration.
The committee will decide on the cases. All demotion recommendations will be handed to the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) board to decide on Sept 19.
The Kelantan FA (Kafa) not only have cases filed against them by their former foreign players through world governing body Fifa but also owe the Employees Provident Fund. It learnt that their total debts are more than RM2.5 million.
Kafa submitted their appeal recently but they did not provide any supporting documents over the settlement of debts.
Melaka’s application was rejected as their financial report was not signed off by an auditor, while Kedah have yet to pay up their former coach David Mitchell.
For now, teams only need to meet the basic regulations for club licensing. The requirements will get tighter in the coming years.
Teams do not have to be privatised in order to obtain the club licence as this requirement will only be implemented later.
All teams in the Super League must obtain a club licence this season and failure to do so could see them demoted to the Premier League.
Second-tier teams have until October 2018 to meet all regulations for club licensing for the 2019 season.
“The appeals committee is the final avenue for the five teams to get their licence. I believe four of the five teams will be granted licences,” FMLLP chief executive officer Kevin Ramalingam told Timesport yesterday.
“But there is one team that will likely be demoted to the Premier League for failing to comply with financial requirements. However, the final decision over demotion will be decided by the FMLLP board on Sept 19.
“The appeals committee can decline and grant a licence. They can also award a conditional licence where the team will be given a stipulated timeframe to meet all requirements.
“The licences of clubs that have qualified for next season’s Asian Champions League and the AFC Cup will be submitted to the Asian Football Confederation by Oct 31.”
On newly promoted teams for next season, Kevin said they only need to comply to 50 per cent of licence requirements.
“Premier League sides Negri Sembilan, Terengganu, Perak SEDC and Kuala Lumpur are the front runners for the two Super League promotion spots, and they have submitted some documents for approval.
“They only need to comply to 50 per cent of the requirements, but they need to meet all obligations when they are in the Super League next season,” Kevin added.