WOMAN IN A MAN’S BOOTS
PKNS FC president Zubaidah relishes the challenges of running a club
WHEN she was first offered the job in 2014, Siti Zubaidah Abdul Jabar thought she would be mad to accept it.
It is to run a football club at the highest level in Malaysian football — the Super League. That is usually a man’s job in a maledominated sport.
Zubaidah, the chief corporate officer of the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) was asked to be the president of their football team.
Zubaidah, 58, a Social Science graduate from Universiti Malaya, admitted that initially she was apprehensive about taking up the role.
“My first reaction was ‘what, this is madness. To me, as a woman, football knowledge and a supporting role are two different things.”
And Zubaidah’s first year as PKNS FC’s president didn’t have a happy ending.
Her club finished 12th in the Super League and they were subsequently demoted to the Premier League.
“In my first year (as PKNS FC president), the team were relegated. That was was tough,” she admitted.
But the lady boss was not one who got discouraged easily. Zubaidah said during this period, she not only pushed herself but the management to target for a return to the Super League in two years.
And PKNS FC did just that in 2016 when they finished runnersup in the Premier League and FA Cup to win promotion.
That year, PKNS lost 2-1 to Johor Darul Ta’zim in the FA Cup final. PKNS’ goal was scored by Argentine striker Gabriel Miguel Guerra while Safiq Rahim and Jorge Pereyra Diaz of Argentina found the net for the Johor team.
After five years at the helm of PKNS FC, Zubaidah admitted that everyday is a learning curve for her.
But she said her job has been made easier by the great support from her coaching team and the players.
“When I was elected, my mission was to turn PKNS FC into a professional team.
“I left the technical and tactical aspects to the more qualified people while I focus on managing the club,” she said.
But the PKNS chief corporate officer admitted that it was tough to get things going in her early years.
This did not deter Zubaidah from working tirelessly to improve PKNS and they were among the first three teams in the 24-team M-League to obtain a club licence when the FA of Malaysia made it a ruling.
“There’s nothing easy in football. Every game is different. There are challenges, win or lose. Nothing should be taken for granted.
“Football administration and financial management are important as you need to learn to spend within the budget and do what’s right for the club,” she said.
Zubaidah, who has worked with three PKNS coaches, E. Elavarasan, Wan Jamak Wan Hassan and currently Datuk K. Rajagobal, said she has instilled values in their players with the team’s philosophy.
“I have seen how the three coaches work. The biggest difference in the current team I would say is that they play because they genuinely want to play football.
“If it were the old team, the players would be okay sitting on the bench but now when we look at the young players, they came because they want to play, to showcase their talent. And we can groom them right that way.
“That’s what makes this current team so special,” she said.
For the fairer sex eyeing a career in football management, Zubaidah, a mother of four, said she would love to see more women in the industry.
Apart from Zubaidah, the other women in charge of teams in the M-League are Tunku Tun Aminah of Johor Darul Ta’zim and Kelantan FA president, Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan.
“Despite the coaches and the technical staff in charge of skills and tactics, as president, you need to know and ask a lot of questions like why substitutions were made and such.
“It’s not about me being nosey but it’s to gain knowledge so that I understand what goes on the pitch. At the end of the day we are dealing with human beings and we need to understand or know what is in heart of the players.
“I treat them (the footballers) like my children and I always advise them to pray before the match or call their parents.”
Zubaidah does not want to confine her life to her boardroom as she prefers her team’s training ground. And she has been quite athletic since young. She represented Selangor in hockey in the mid 1970s and was also active in netball, volleyball, cross country and track and field.
Her approach is “get the job done and get it done right.”
“You need to have inner strength. Don’t give up, never surrender. That’s my motto,” she said.
“Family support is also important. I come home late especially if there are matches and I have to sit down with the coach.
Zubaidah’s team have been performing creditably this season. They are presently in midtable, and tomorrow they play Kuala Lumpur in the Super League.
And a woman’s intuition may help her team win matches.