SETS THE TONE
The national team’s travails saw the goodwill generated by Tunku Ismail’s election as FAM president ebb away among the public with no end in sight for Malaysia’s downward spiral.
But the promotion of Vingada’s assistant Tan Cheng Hoe to the top job quickly generated praise and agreement among most pundits as the best man to get the national team back on track.
Working in Cheng Hoe’s favour is Tunku Ismail’s public backing and the fact that the former Kedah coach is well-versed with the culture of Malaysian football and players.
Cheng Hoe’s main challenge is to put on a respectable showing at the AFF Cup in late 2018 but he must first restore confidence in a morale-battered national team.
The national team’s performances aside, the youth level programmes gained traction following a series of positive results in 2017.
The national Under-22 team won a silver medal at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games on the back of a six-match winning run until a goalkeeper error gifted Thailand a 1-0 win and the gold medal.
But the team’s run generated a wave of euphoria on a local level not seen since the national team won the AFF Cup in 2010.
Ong Kim Swee’s side also came through the AFC Under-23 Championship qualifying rounds and will play the finals in China next month.
Similarly, Bojan Hodak’s Under-19 squad qualified for the AFC Under-19 championship in Indonesia while Malaysia will host the AFC Under-16 Championship where the first batch of the National Football Development Programme will attempt to qualify for the 2019 Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
The national futsal squad also punched above their weight on the back of a moribund domestic scene to win silver at the Sea Games and finish runners-up at the AFF Futsal Championship.
With a limited talent pool due to the absence of a national league, national coach Chiew Chun Yong has been forced to rely on a trusted few players as Malaysia prepare for the AFC Championship in February.
But a ray of light has been cast on futsal with FAM set to bring the national league back in February.