PUTRAJAYA – Malaysian football may have been in the doldrums for the past years, but there is still light at the end of the tunnel with FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin leading it.
Hamidin who became the president of FAM after taking over from HRH Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim in 2018 successfully retained his post for a second term at the 57th FAM Congress today.
He won unopposed after receiving full backing from the State affiliates.
The Olympic Council of Malaysian (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria said that it is great to see Hamidin retain his post as now he can look forward to executing all the initiatives that he has planned for the last two years with the full support from the State affiliates.
“He is the right man to lead football and his ability is evident with his success to revive football during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is not easy for any sports associations during these difficult times, especially football, which is a contact sport.
“He has done well so far, citing the circumstances and it will only be fair to give him more time to do more for the sport. Hamidin can now work on his F:30 initiative without any hindrance,” Norza told The Vibes when contacted.
The F:30 is a FAM Roadmap, which envisions Malaysia to become the top five football nations in Asia by 2030.
The 12-year roadmap is divided into three strategic plans; the first phase from 2019 to 2022 is to build a strong foundation in terms of governance, competition and human capital and infrastructure development, followed by the second phase (2023-2026) to reach the top five in Asia and the third phase (2027-2030), which aims to produce a national team that can reach world standards.
However, the F:30 Roadmap had to take the back seat after the Covid-19 hit Malaysian football severely after the Government’s implementation of the lockdown.
At the same time, National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said that he admires Hamidin’s dedication towards football, especially during these challenging times.
“It is a big responsibility to shoulder for Hamidin during the pandemic, but I believe he is the right person.
“It’s a well-deserved victory for Hamidin and I believe that his leadership will be good to Malaysian football. His success in retaining his post shows that he has the full support from the states. With Hamidin at helm, I am confident that the NSC and FAM will be able to work closer, mainly involving the National Football Development Program (NFDP) and other programs, which are in the pipeline,” he said.
Meanwhile, the president of Football Coaches of Malaysia Association, B. Sathianathan told The Vibes that in these troubling times, nobody is capable of captaining the ship out of the stormy waters other than Hamidin.
“It is a lot easier to lead a big association like FAM when you have the money and sponsors because money makes people and affiliates happy but during rough times like this, it takes an experience footballing man to be the president and lead the way.
“You need a person who thinks like a corporate person to handle the business part and at the same time, have the experience to handle the politics in football. Hamidin’s work ethic is unbelievable because I know for the fact that he works as early as 6 am and finishes his work at midnight.
“With his experience and calm nature, I believe that we can see more progress in the coming years with him as the president,” said Sathia. – The Vibes, March 13, 2021.
