KUALA LUMPUR: PJ City, seen as one of the better-run teams and who had given local players opportunities, withdraw from the Super League after four years. Club owner Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran talks to award-winning journalist Tony Mariadass on the team's situation and their future.
Q: How do you feel about PJ City pulling out from the league and what's next?
A: Nothing has actually changed with regard to my goals. From the onset it has been about Malaysian football, keyword being Malaysian. I consider myself a product of the 1970s and 1980s, where we played world class football, and I was immensely proud everywhere I went as Malaysian football was spoken of highly. It was a concept of "Malaysia Boleh" put into action.
To watch our current performance becoming lacklustre when I returned from overseas, was very disappointing. Our world ranking dropped drastically. There was a time when giants feared us. We had the likes of Diego Maradona playing against the late Mokhtar Dahari at Merdeka Stadium, and that was a night to remember. I want to revive that and I believe we had to start at grassroots. My focus remains on grassroots. It began at the grassroots and remains at the grassroots.
So while the Super League has been going on, the grassroots, to me, remains the most important aspect in what we do.
What we have done with the President's Cup (Under-21), Youth Cup (Under-19) and Under-16 teams have been very fulfilling. We had the likes of V. Ruventhiran coming up through the ranks.
And players from our team like Darren Lok, Kalamulliah A-Hafiz have earned national call-ups. So in many ways I have been rewarded. I rather spend my time and efforts in developing those at the grassroots from the Under-12, Under-16 and Under-21.
As we focus on this for the next few years, let's call our exit from the Super League a hiatus. The Super League, as in our case, is heading in a different direction. We may not be an element, but we want to prove a point that locals are our gems and it may take some time, but we intend to achieve our goals.
I want to take the next few years to focus on grassroots development — right from the kampung level. We want to pick players from primary and secondary school level. We want to focus on an academy. We're in talks with our partners, Manchester City, to set up an academy in Malaysia. (PJ City have been partners with Manchester City since 2014).
It's my belief that given a few years off, I can build a team of calibre, a fully local team. And maybe we will be back in the league. Just like before as we rose from the Premier league to the Super League.
Q: How long do you think it will take for PJ City to be back in the league?
A: Four years is a good estimate. For instance, the boys in the Under-16. I believe in four years they will be ready to perform at national level.
We will nurture them. I think this hiatus is necessary and we put the money where the impact is going to be.
Q: Have your players, those with existing contracts, found other teams following PJ City's withdrawal?
A: We had seven players on two-year contracts and they have got offers from other teams.
Q: PJ City will be seen as one of the many clubs that failed to last in the M-League. Is that the case?
A: Our withdrawal has nothing to do with us unable to manage the team financially. Our decision is purely based on our principle to build a homegrown team and prove a point that Malaysians have the talent and can stand on their own.
At this point, we are just taking a break to work harder to achieve our goals to build a stronger local team and concentrate on the grassroots, unearth and nurture talents and return to the league when we are ready. We have not closed down the team. Of course, the league is still not viable commercially to local teams. It's a fact that many teams do not have sustainable revenue channels. They fail to transform into commercially viable entities and continue to rely heavily on state funding.
We hope things will become better by the time we return. We know what it takes to manage a team effectively and have done it without any problem. There's a need for more companies, sports marketing agencies, merchandising agencies, sports lawyers and insurance companies to enable the industry to be more vibrant. I believe it's slowly happening. We need teams to be on the same page and do their part.
Q: What kind of development programme are you looking at over the next four years?
A: The PJ City FC Players Development Programme is part of the pathway for the team as it provides training and games for the youth teams, and this will continue. The youth team are selected from all over the country from the development programme initiated by Malaysian Indian FA, and they train year round. What we need now is more competitive matches and we may even consider organising a league for youth teams on a longer period. Our approach is youth-centred, where we coach from the head down, rather than the feet up. We want to support every player in their confidence, creativity, decision-making and love for the game. We want every player to feel empowered, take responsibility for their own learning and fulfil their potential on and off the pitch.
Besides the plan to set up a youth academy in collaboration with Manchester City, we have started the Jaguh RF programme this year. Through collaborations with Rythm Foundation, MySkills Foundation and MyPJ (a Petaling Jaya-based community group), the club scout for talented players, aged 13-14, from low-income families.
The three-year Jaguh RF programme kicked off with the scouting of 40 boys from B40 families in Selangor and KL. We are also looking at working with an established club who have an existing junior development programme with excellent facilities.
