Malaysia’s ‘stupid’ football naturalisation drive gets red card

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A drive to ramp up Malaysia’s footballing fortunes with naturalised players has failed, critics say, with the national team no nearer a first World Cup appearance and soul-searching about the state of the game in the country.

Football is among the most popular sports in the nation of more than 30 million people but at international level Malaysia are minnows – 154th in the FIFA rankings, a spot below tiny Andorra.

Long-suffering Malaysian fans had high hopes when football authorities launched the naturalisation programme in 2018, ahead of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and several overseas-born players were handed citizenship.

But the scheme was put on hold in August a er Malaysia’s tilt at the World Cup came up short once more, with naturalised players taking some of the flak.

Already naturalised players can still play for the country but there will be no new ones coming through the door in the near future. Santokh Singh, who played for the national side in the 1970s and 1980s – be er times – said there should be a renewed focus on training local players.

“We’ve got so many good local players who are capable of performing be er than the foreigners... they are not ge ing a chance to play,” the 69-year-old told AFP.

“Naturalisation of players is stupid.”

Malaysia is among a number of countries that have sought to raise the level of their national squad by giving foreign players citizenship.

From China and Japan to

Mexico and even Spain, it has become a growing trend, with footballers from Brazil particularly popular.

But it has provoked controversy, with some, such as wealthy Qatar, accused of stacking their teams with foreigners with li le connection to the country they are representing.

In 2007, FIFA’s then-president Sepp Bla er warned about “invaders from Brazil” flooding national sides and the governing body has tightened the rules.

Those without ancestral connections to a country must have been resident there for at least five years before qualifying to play for its national side.

In Malaysia’s case, Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh was the first player given citizenship as part of the naturalisation drive, making his debut for the national side in 2018. — AFP