PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is now in a comprehensive review phase to assess weaknesses and gaps in governance, management and football administration following the resignation of all members of its Executive Committee (Exco).
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said the move provides room for the AFC to assist FAM in conducting an internal assessment based on benchmarks of modern and internationally recognised football associations.
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According to Windsor, the findings of the assessment, which will be presented to the FAM Congress, are expected to form the basis for structural and policy changes that FAM needs to implement in order to become more robust, professional and aligned with the current demands of international football.
“What has been discussed together with FAM is to help FAM conduct an assessment of several internal aspects, particularly governance, management and certain areas of football administration.
“So, we want to identify what is weak and where the gaps are. If we benchmark against a modern association or current standards, we will carry out the assessment and then present the report to stakeholders, especially the FAM Congress,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after a Special Meeting of the FAM Executive Committee at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya here on Wednesday.
At the same time, Windsor said a special team from the AFC will be formed and led by AFC Deputy Secretary-General Vahid Kardany, together with several consultants, to carry out the assessment before presenting a report with recommendations for improvements to FAM.
According to him, the AFC has been given full autonomy without any time constraints or specific conditions in carrying out the assessment process.
Meanwhile, he said the AFC has received a proposal from FAM to form a management team until the assessment process is completed.
“We know that a secretary-general alone cannot manage internal administration, so he needs a team to handle the administration.
“So, we have accepted FAM’s proposal that, in addition to the secretary-general and treasurer, two other department heads will be selected to be part of this management team, which will liaise with the AFC and FIFA — that is the current plan,” he said.
Meanwhile, FAM Secretary-General Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, who is currently responsible for managing daily operations, said the association is ready to provide full cooperation to the AFC.
“On behalf of the secretariat, we are fully prepared... we are opening the space as widely as possible to the AFC (to review) all aspects in terms of structure, statutes, finance and administration. We are ready and will work closely with the AFC,” he said.
Earlier, today’s press conference announced the immediate resignation of all FAM Exco members for the 2025–2029 term on a collective and voluntary basis.
The decision was made unanimously, taking into account organisational responsibility and without personal interests or positions, and was a prudent and principled step in light of the current situation that has drawn public attention, among other aims to safeguard the integrity of FAM.
