KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah FC plunged further into crisis after their head coach, Nafuzi Zain, announced his resignation yesterday amid the club's financial woes.
Reports have emerged that Kedah will play the rest of the season without any foreign players, thus dealing a blow to the team's competitive edge.
Nafuzi's resignation came at a time when Kedah are finding it increasingly difficult to pay the salaries of their players as their fans fear that the former Malaysian football powerhouse would suffer the same fate as the now-defunct Kelantan.
Football critic Sadek Mustafa warned that Kedah could collapse due to mismanagement unless immediate remedial action is taken.
"If nothing is done, Kedah could face the same fate as Kelantan. Reports are already surfacing about foreign players complaining to Fifa over unpaid salaries.
"This situation calls for intervention from the state government or the club's owner (Tan Sri Dr Daud Bakar) to step in and settle the outstanding salaries," said Sadek.
Two other Super League clubs, KL City and Sri Pahang are also said to be struggling with financial problems.
And Sabah FC are also believed to be facing the same situation as the recent resignation of their coach, Datuk Ong Kim Swee, sparked speculation of financial woes.
Sadek warned that more M-League teams could suffer similar financial problems.
He called for reforms to the MFL, including a rebranding of the M-League, to prevent a collapse of the league.
He suggested that the Super League be reduced to six teams to make it more sustainable and manageable for clubs.
"We need a more viable structure. The current format is not beneficial to teams. I believe that a smaller league could help alleviate some of the financial pressures and improve the quality of the competition," said Sadek.
Historically, Malaysian clubs have relied heavily on state governments for funding, but recent reforms by FAM to drive clubs towards self-sufficiency, have made things hard for them.
This, however, has led to financial burdens, following the introduction of a Reserve League last year and mandatory Under-23 teams for Super League clubs.
The future of Malaysian football now hinges on urgent intervention from key stakeholders to prevent more clubs from ending up defunct like Kelantan.