Stuart is new FAM secretarygeneral

STUART Ramalingam has been appointed as the new secretarygeneral of the FA of Malaysia (FAM).

The 41-year-old replaced Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin who was elected as FAM’s president on Saturday.

The Selangor-born Stuart, whose brother Kevin is the chief executive officer of Malaysian Football League, was picked ahead of others based on his experiences in management and administration with both local and international organisations including Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Stuart also served FAM as the Super League’s chief executive officer in 2010.

In 2012, Stuart joined AFC and held various directors’ posts there including being their Club Championship director (involving AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and AFC Futsal Championships), marketing director and director of social responsibility.

After serving at various levels of football organisations, Stuart later became a consultant to Dentsu Sports and IMG, two of the world's largest sports agencies in 2014.

At Dentsu Sports, Stuart held the vice-president post and headed the agency's operations in Asia.

“Based on his experience, Stuart is the most suitable candidate for the job,” said Hamidin.

“I hope he can carry out his duties well in order to elevate our football.”

Stuart officially starts at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya today.