KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's football development is falling behind Asean rivals - Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
And the FA of Malaysia (FAM) could see that its team for the recent Under-17 Asian Cup qualifiers in Vientiane, Laos, were substandard. In September, Malaysia also fell in the Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In Vientiane, Malaysia, coached by Spaniard Javier Jorda Ribera, failed miserably in the qualifiers, losing 2-0 to the United Arab Emirates and drawing 2-2 against lowly Laos.
This has led to FAM Technical Director Scott O'Donell saying that the absences of national Under-15 and Under-16 leagues (which would have enabled players to display their skills and provide a more accurate assessment for talent scouts) were a major factor contributing to this failure.
Currently, Malaysia's youth football structure consists of the Under-14 Education Ministry's Cup, Under-17 KPM-FAM Youth Cup, Under-18 Youth Cup, and Under-20 President's Cup.
O'Donell said the talent pool needs to be expanded beyond the Mokhtar Dahari and Johor Darul Ta'zim academies.
In response to these setbacks, FAM secretary general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said reports from the Under-16 and Under-20 team managers and coaches would be reviewed.
FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram, while acknowledging the failures, said FAM's F:30 Roadmap, launched in 2018, is still a viable framework for development.
Sivasundaram has instructed the FAM secretariat to gather comprehensive reports on the youth teams' performances and to develop solutions.