To naturalise or not to naturalise, that is the question

Malaysia ever see daylight in qualifying for the World Cup?

Many initiatives were made in the past where targets were set, and blueprints were introduced, but sadly all became failed ventures.

In 1999, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) spoke about launching a blueprint with a target of seeing action in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

But the dream project failed to take off while the national team, then under K. Rajagobal, were ousted by Singapore in the first round of the continent’s qualifiers in 2011.

With Malaysian football currently at its lowest ebb, Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, on Wednesday, spiced up things and got everyone excited by talking about the 2030 World Cup.

And he brought up Qatar’s success in lifting this year’s Asian Cup in the UAE through their Aspire Academy initiative. Founded in 2004, the academy was set up to scout and help develop Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with secondary school education.

Critics, however, have claimed that the academy is a vehicle to naturalise players outside Qatar, at a young age, mostly from Africa.

They alleged that it is a systematic initiative of hijacking young talents with money and good life to turn Qatar into a powerhouse in football.

It is understandable that Qatar is using this initiative as with a population of 2.7 million, the rich Gulf nation, simply does not have enough young players to form a team that could hope to compete with the likes of Brazil, Argentina and Germany one day.

The victory at the Asian Cup was a testament to the Aspire Academy’s initiative but again many criticised their success. Sadly, many footballers were not Qatar-born, some came from neighbouring Arab countries while others were from poor African nations.

Allegations were made by several parties, including the media, during the Asian Cup but they were all brushed off by the organisers.

While Qatar are now on the right track for the 2022 World Cup, which they will be hosting, Malaysia have come up with an idea to model the Mokhtar Dahari Academy, under the National Football Development Plan (NFDP), after the Aspire Academy in a move to start up a systematic naturalising programme for young foreign-born players, preferably those below 12 years old.

The Malaysian football fraternity believes that mixing naturalised players with local footballers will be the right formula to build a strong Harimau Malaya team that can maul their Asian rivals and qualify for the 2030 World Cup.

Syed Saddiq has already received the support of FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin, who visited the Aspire Academy in Qatar recently.

The proposal to fast-track our progress in football through the naturalisation programme could stunt the growth and progress of Malaysia-born footballers in the long run.

The NFDP was set up to groom young players accordingly under a well-organised system, and to top up what the State FAs have been lacking in terms of development.

By bringing foreign-born players into the programme, it defeats the purpose. Furthermore, Malaysian football needs a major facelift first as grassroots development is a major problem.

Except for teams like Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and PKNS FC, the other M-League clubs are only interested in investing in their first teams.

In modern football, there are two popular development systems.

One is club-based, practised in Europe while the other is the school-based system implemented in Japan and the United States.

Teams do not realise that the M-League is just the tip of the Malaysian football iceberg. There are many layers below the M-League that most teams have failed to look after.

In Croatia, sixth-tier teams must have three development sides from the Under-15 age group, while those from the third-tier need to have five layers of age group teams to qualify. This concept is also implemented in most nations in Europe.

In Japan and the US, top coaches are assigned to educate and coach footballers in high schools, and most will have at least 50 players of similar quality.

In the Sanix Cup in Japan recently, the national Under-19 team were battered and bruised by high school teams. However, it was no shame in defeat as some Japanese high school players had already earned contracts with top clubs.

So is Malaysia doing things right? The NFDP comes closest but things do not look bright now for the programme following budget issues.

Why should we use government money to fly down Under12 foreign-born players and groom them accordingly in the hope one day they would bring glory to the nation?

If young Malaysians are taught the fundamentals of football in a systematic environment, I am sure we will have a few with the ability to elevate the status of football here.

For now, forget about the World Cup.

FAM and other football governing bodies along with clubs should first get their houses in order before thinking about qualifying for the World Cup.

Of course, having a target to play in the World Cup is a noble thing but we will never achieve it unless everyone realises that they are doing things wrong.

Having just road maps and blueprints alone will not help without proper planning. Ideas put on a piece of paper and having grand launches to promote them will not work if the concerned parties do not put in place a systematic plan to make them a reality.

So, let’s aim for Asian Cup qualification first before thinking too big about playing in the World Cup.