Time for FAM to review youth development programmes
PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) must review their youth development programmes.
This comes in the wake of last week’s back-toback failures in the AFC Under-16 Finals in India and Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-19 Championship in Hanoi, Vietnam.
National Under-16 coach P. Somasundram’s boys, from the Gambang Sports School in Pahang, made an early exit after identical 3-0 defeats to Oman and South Korea. Their only point came from the 1-1 draw with Iraq.
This was in total contrast to the team who competed in the AFC Under-16 Finals in 2014. Then, the team missed out on a ticket to the FIFA World Under-17 Finals in Chile by a whisker – after losing 2-1 to fancied Australia in the quarter-finals.
In 2014, the Malaysian team (Harimau Muda D) qualified for the quarter-finals after finishing as group runners-up to South Korea. They defeated Thailand 1-0 and Oman 2-1, but lost 1-0 to South Korea.
Malaysia suffered the same embarrassment in this year’s AFF Under-19 Championship when the team, under German Frank Bernhardt, failed to reach the semi-finals after shock losses to Timor Leste (3-2) and hosts Vietnam (3-1). Malaysia only managed to beat the Philippines (5-0) and Singapore (2-1).
Last year, Malaysia (Harimau Muda C) qualified for the semi-finals, where they lost 5-0 to Thailand. They went on to finish fourth after losing to Laos on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Many believe that FAM had shot themselves in the foot when they disbanded the Harimau Muda Project teams – A (Under-23), B (Under-21), C (Under-19) and D (Under-17).
FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said that they would meet soon to come up with better youth development programmes, including the immediate task of preparing the National Under-22 team for the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games next year.
“There are a few solutions to preparing the SEA Games squad next year. The team management have agreed with the teams (affiliates) to call up the Under-22 players on an ad hoc basis for centralised training ... and not full-time,” said Hamidin after receiving “‘ultra-durable” balls from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) director of communications department Colin Gibson at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
Asked if they were plans to give the SEA Games trainees exposure by fielding them in the M-League (Premier or Super) next season, Hamidin said that was unlikely.
When Bernhardt was appointed in January to assemble the 2017 Project squad, he was told that they would feature in the Premier League. But the idea was shelved because the affiliates wanted the players for their state teams.
So far, he has only had a few centralised training sessions and seven friendly matches.
Datuk K. Rajagopal and Datuk Ong Kim Swee enjoyed success in the 2009 and 2011 SEA Games – thanks to the Harimau Muda Project squads. Then, the teams played in the Premier League and Super League.
It was the same when invitational side Lions XII of Singapore exposed their players in the M-League. They fielded their Project squad, which also comprised a few senior players, and finished runners-up in the Super League in 2012. That same year, the Lions went on to win the AFF Suzuki Cup.