FAM hope for smooth club licensing process

PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are hoping the club licensing process for the 2019 M-League season will be a smooth one.

Last year, Felda United were demoted to the Premier League despite finishing third in the 12-team Super League after they failed to obtain their licence.

FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said FAM’s First Instance Body (FIB) would vet through the documents and the result would be known around June-July.

“This is the first part of the application process and I’m happy that all the M-League teams have submitted their applications before the deadline (Feb 15),” said Hamidin yesterday.

“FIB will go through it and assess it based on six main criteria – sporting, infrastructure, personnel and administration, legal, finance and business.

“This licensing is a move forward in managing our football teams. I believe the teams are wiser after their experience last season.”

All 12 teams from the Super League – Kedah, Perak, PKNP, Selangor, PKNS, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), Terengganu, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur and Pahang – have applied for the licence.

All teams except for Pahang have also applied for the Asian Fooball Confederation (AFC) licence which enables them to compete in the AFC Champions League in 2019.

The FAM disciplinary committee banned Pahang from securing the AFC Club licence from 2018-2019 after the Elephants decided not to participate in the 2018 AFC Cup.

Meanwhile, 10 out of the 12 teams in the 2018 Premier League have applied for the FAM licence which makes them eligible to compete in the 2019 Super League, if they get promoted to the top flight.

They are Penang, Felda United, Police, UiTM, MISC-MIFA, Kuantan FA, Felcra, Sabah, Sarawak and UKM.

JDT II and Terengganu II did not apply due to their status as feeder clubs to JDT and Terengganu from the Super League.