Local footballers as good as, if not better than, naturalised players

KUALA LUMPUR: Local football players are as good as, while some are better than, the naturalised players, said Youth and Spots Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

Citing winger Muhammad Safawi Rasid and striker Guilherme de Paula, who are playing in the ongoing ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2020 in Singapore, he said the former had more plus points compared to the Brazil-born player.

According to Faizal, Muhammad Safawi has played for 246 minutes so far while De Paula has featured for 119 minutes, with Safawi having scored four goals and De Paula yet to get off the mark.

"Safawi has had 10 attempts on goal compared to two by De Paula. As for shots on target, Safawi has eight and De Paula two. For shooting accuracy, Safawi has 80 (per cent) and De Paula 100 (per cent).

"So, we can see that our local players are just as good when you make a comparison with the naturalised players," he said during the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Faizal was replying to a question from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (Pas-Setiu) as to how much control the ministry has in the naturalisation of football players.

He pointed out that the ministry could not control the naturalisation process of football players as the applications did not go through the ministry.

He said the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had also put off the naturalisation project following the team's poor performance in the 2023 World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June.

Faizal said the ministry was committed to focusing on the development of sports in the country.

"For football, the national development programme is an initiative that places emphasis on the development of young players nationwide, besides welcoming players who have obtained naturalisation status to help train young players in a bid to improve the standard of football in the country," he said. - Bernama

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