KUALA LUMPUR – The Ultras Malaya want the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to relook into its policy of naturalising players as the group demands that only Malaysian-born should represent the nation.
In a post on their Facebook page, the group voiced its disapproval towards naturalised players representing the national team.
“The National team should only be represented by players who have MALAYSIAN BLOOD, which means players who are born on Malaysian soil and those who are of Malaysian descent,” the group insisted in the Facebook post.
The group also claimed that policies and programmes to bring in non-Malaysian players into the national team is unnecessary and would not benefit national football in the long run.
“This is a shortcut to cover the weaknesses in football development in Malaysia.
“Foreign players need to ply their trade in the local league for five years before being considered for the national team. Why can’t we develop local players in the same five years?”
The group called on FAM to divert their resources to programmes that would benefit local players instead of foreign ones.
However, former national coach B. Sathianathan did not agree with the Ultras, saying he believes naturalisation of foreign players is not something new as other countries such as Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and even those in Europe have done it.
“I wish I had the option to bring naturalised players into the national team when I was the coach. Naturalised players add depth and quality to the national team.
“We lack talent at the grassroots now, so it is good to have some naturalised players in the team.
“This situation will get from bad to worse in the next six to seven years. Our Under-18 and Under-21 teams do not have enough quality players who can play at the senior level,” Sathia, who is the Technical Director of Sarawak United, told The Vibes when contacted.
He added that naturalised players will eventually play for the love of the country. They should be given time to adapt and not be criticised after a few bad results.
The national team had naturalised players when Malaysia beat Indonesia and Thailand in the World Cup qualification but no issues were raised.
Meanwhile, a source in the football fraternity said that the naturalisation of these foreign players is a quick fix for the failure of football development in Malaysia.
“Football development is in the doldrums, so what dio they do? They naturalise foreigners to fix the problem.
“The main issue is not about naturalising foreign players, but about which foreign players represent the country. It is time FAM revisit their mission and vision for the national team,” the source told The Vibes. – The Vibes, June 16, 2021
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