AMD BACK ON TRACK
Better management, food and facilities after ‘overhaul’
THE players from the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD) won’t have to go hungry anymore. At least, they are having five nutritious meals a day.
This, according to Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, is one of the many improvements made to the RM85 million academy in Gambang, Pahang.
“There were issues with the meals and now the players are getting five meals a day, and all of them approved by the NSI (National Sports Institute),” he told NST Sport recently.
“So, you know these players are getting the right nutrition.”
Earlier, there were adverse reports about the players’ welfare with claims that they were not given enough meals a day.
This has led to disgruntled parents of the players expressing dismay over the welfare management at AMD, especially on the food issue.
In October last year, Syed Saddiq made a surprise visit to the AMD and he was appalled at the conditions there.
The minister had said then that he was “very disappointed” with the problems at the AMD, especially the facilities and equipment.
An audit of the academy showed there were 740 defects.
“What is even more depressing is the very basics such as diet and nutrition are not even emphasised until the players are forced
to go hungry because the food that is given to them is not up to the quality that it should be,” he told the media in October.
At that time, Syed Saddiq had said because of all these problems, AMD’s mission to produce top footballing talent has been severely affected.
The objective of the AMD, which was built in 2016, is to provide high performance training and international level exposure at a top facility.
The academy is for young, talented players from all over the country not just to get an education, but to realise their potential to become top footballers.
However, many things at the AMD have improved since then, and a happy Syed Saddiq said the academy is now better managed.
The minister said following the “overhaul” of the AMD, it is now better managed, and the academy has started to show progress.
And Syed Saddiq feels that the academy is keeping to its goal of producing talented footballers of international standards.
“I visited the AMD three weeks ago and there are now only 10-20 major defects (compared to 740 previously) with the rest having been resolved,” he said.
“Remember how there were no support staff from the National Sports Institute (NSI). Now there are six permanent staff.”
Syed Saddiq turned up to watch the AMD Under-16 team beat Selangor 1-0 in a Youth Cup match at the Majlis Perbandaran Sepang Stadium recently.
The minister said he is glad the “experiment” is working out.
“I am excited with the development done by the Under-16 team from AMD because this is the first year whereby we have placed the AMD team in the (national) Under-19 league.
“This experiment has worked and the game showed by the AMD Under-16 means they can take on those who are three years older but we have to train them harder for the next three years.”
Syed Saddiq disclosed that they are looking into international exposure for the AMD Under16 team in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Football Association, Japan Football Association, and the French Football Federation.
“We are looking into pairing with the Japanese, Dutch and French associations to ensure the network gets better and better.
“And if you see now, at the academy the treatment there is better than any other athletes can get.”
Happy food-ball at the AMD. That is food for thought.