FOOTBALL is literally in the pits with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) fiasco over the citizenship rights - now a controversy in Kedah.
Kedah Darul Aman and Perak have been handed two-season suspensions after failing to obtain the national licence required for participation in the Malaysian Football League (MFL) next season.
Their football associations were unable to obtain the national licence for the 2025/26 season as their applications did not meet the financial criteria set out in the MFL’s club licensing regulations.
The inability to settle wages are said to be a perennial issue among football clubs.
Both Kedah and Perak will not have state teams in the premier national league next season.
Kota Darul Aman assemblyman Teh Swee Leong expressed regret over the matter, saying that football organisations should learn to manage themselves better if the country were to fare well.
Football is arguably the number one spectator sport in the country, if not the world but since the sport begun accepting many politicians into its circle, the sport is seen as not heading anyway.
Majority of Malaysians now tend to know the English Premier League players than their own local stars.
Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC majority club owner Tan Sri Dr Mohd Daud Bakar has apologised to the state and its supporters, saying the period given by FAM was too short to comply with the financial regulations.
Meanwhile, a keen observer of the Malaysian football scene, shared his views of the matter.
Privatisation, personalities and politics are hindering the reforms to revitalise the football standard.
Kedah was at one point a national football powerhouse producing some of the country's top players and coaches with the likes of the late Datuk Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah coaching the Kedah Darul Aman Football Club (KDA FC), then known as The Canaries, to a "double treble" — victories in all three major football competitions in two consecutive years.
However, since its glory days KDA FC has since fallen prey to the same politics, infighting and importation of foreigners that plagues Malaysian football, especially since the club was privatised in 2021.
While the pandemic forced a stall on Malaysia's football scene, the thaw since then has revealed deep cracks from mismanagement to misappropriation with KDA FC being a state level snapshot of national malaise.
Daud’s public apology after KDA FC failed to secure its National Club License in May for the upcoming season was notable as privatisation, at least in Kedah's football scene has failed dramatically.
Instead of having a fully integrated football ecosystem where local talent is developed and channelled into the KDA FC with the support of state level organisations like the Kedah Football Association and state level ministerial support, we have fragmentation and personality clashes.
Privatisation was supposed to bring discipline, but too many teams still struggle with late wages, debt accumulation, and unstable sponsorships.
Owners often enter the game with enthusiasm, only to discover that football is an unforgiving business that requires long-term investments, professional management, and the willingness to absorb financial losses before seeing any returns.
Not everyone is prepared for that reality.
Other players involved in this entanglement include DSAT Group Executive Chairman, Sabah-born entrepreneur Datuk Seri Azizul Tandek who had made a bid to take over the club last year but faced fierce resistance. Why did the players, officers and staff have to suffer? Whose responsibility was it before regarding the welfare of the players and their salaries not being paid?"
This unhealthy constellation of political characters is bogging down efforts to bring Kedah's football scene back to its glory days and as the public's awareness of the troubles plaguing Malaysia's football scene are higher than ever following the scandal involving naturalised players, it is high time for a total revamp of Kedah's football scene.
Privatisation was supposed to bring discipline, but teams still struggle with late wages, debt accumulation, and unstable sponsorships.
Owners often enter the game with enthusiasm, only to discover that football is an unforgiving business that requires long-term investments, professional management, and the willingness to absorb financial losses before seeing any returns but not everyone is prepared for that reality. - November 27, 2025.
Nik Imran Darus
Sungei Petani
Kedah
The observations reflect the writer's personal insights and do not necessarily represent the official stance of The Vibes.com.
