There’s one heck of a scrap for the 2015 Malaysia Super league title. Pahang and Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) are two royally backed teams whom, until Saturday’s 4-2 drubbing for Pahang by LionXII of Singapore, were matching each other win-for-win, goal-for-goal, point-for-point.
Pahang have blinked first in a sprint for the wire that sees the teams half way through a seven-match-in 24-days spell to end the season. Like last year, the race is likely to go down to the final match on August 22nd. It has been – and promises for two weeks more – to be epic sport.
Football wise, Pahang’s defeat in Singapore was their first defeat in 13 – of which 11 were wins – whilst JDT are on a run of nine wins in ten matches, during which they have conceded just three goals. These are good, strong footballing teams playing often entertaining and technically sound football.
Even during a week when the English Premier league kicked off, this domestic story should be dominating the sports pages of the local press, and be featuring prominently on the TV screens of National broadcasters.
It isn’t.
Instead, we read all about Jose Mourinho’s upset with the female physio at Chelsea, yet know next to nothing about the physical toll of seven matches in three and a half weeks on our domestic players. We even know that the “offending” physio at Chelsea was Eva Carneiro, and yet I suspect nobody in Malaysia would consider writing a story about LionsXII physiotherapist, Nurhafizah, and the fact that her brother plays in the first team.
Raheem Sterling’s 49 million pound (how obscene are these figures?) move to Manchester City has been argued, discussed, dissected and moralised about. And yet the move of Norshahrul Idlan Talaha to Terengganu and his upswing in form on the East Coast barely registers. People seem to think nothing about Wayne Rooney being paid #250,000 per week (1,500,000RM) PER WEEK, yet get awfully upset when Malaysia’s best players pick up to RM80,000 per month.
And whilst we get a blow-by-blow update, and comment, on the progress of Liverpool’s enhanced Main Stand, I do not recall seeing anything, anywhere, about the building of Felda United’s new stadium.
On the pitch, imagine the same run of form and a same closeness as we’re seeing in the Malaysian title chase being translated to a Chelsea against Manchester City in the Money Premier League. In that scenario, there’s no doubt that Malaysian media outlets – with their imported copy and news feeds – would be inundated with columns penned from home and abroad drooling over the intricate details and wonderful sport.
The reluctance to showcase our own League and players ahead of Internationally renowned others (particularly the English Premier league, but to a lesser extent Spain’s La Liga) is something that this resident of Malaysia has never truly understood.
It’s a particularly galling state of affairs as, for a while, it seemed as though the corner was being turned. Over the last three or four seasons, the competitive domestic League had prominent daily coverage on both TV and in the newspapers, and people were talking about Malaysian football as much as the International leagues.
But this season, things seem to have reverted back to as they were 5 years ago. The Malaysian Super League run-in isn’t dominating the back pages of the Newspapers, nor the radio stations and certainly isn’t registering with the broadcasters who chose to show the League’s live matches.
My go-to English language radio station in Kuala Lumpur is BFM, but when it comes to sport, their news bulletins prefer to report on utterly meaningless tennis events with some unpronounceable East European being eliminated in the first round of a sponsored event, than tell us about the woes of Sime Darby, or the equally thrilling race for the Malaysian Premier league title.
The lack of a strong Kuala Lumpur team in Malaysian football means that attention in the capital – where most media outlets have their base – is likely to mean less respectful coverage, but as a keen follower of the local game, and one who is aware of the numbers of people who watch the games live, or on TV, it has been frustrating over this last few weeks to be asked on numerous occasions about how excited I am over the return of the English Premier League – a League that takes place thousands of miles away – when within our own midst, there is a dramatic League title chase going on. Yet you’d hardly know it.
Recently, local sports news has been dominated by Lee Chong Wei’s blue hair, the badminton teams preparations for the World Championships, transfer news ad nauseum from Europe and debate as to who will win England’s Money Premier League.
Coincidental, or otherwise, Astro Arena held rights for televising matches for the past four years and domestic football seemed to be much more talked about, and increasingly covered in the Press. The broadcaster had a deliberate policy of accentuating – wherever possible – the positives of our local League, and of showcasing our local talent.
For whatever financial or Management reasons, Astro are now no longer covering live Super league (or Premier league) football in Malaysia this season. They continue to have regular programming such as Formasi, Sorakan 12 and Bola@Mamak highlighting the season, and Nadi Arena’s editorial is covering the League on a daily basis – as it should do being a 24-hour local sports channel.
There are live games, of course. Two were shown simultaneously last Saturday, and three at the same time the weekend before. All generated decent viewing figures which proves there is a huge interest in the local leagues and adds to my mystification as to why there isn’t more coverage of the local game.
It’s not about Malaysia being lowly in the FIFA World rankings. The League consists of several teams that “matter” to their supporters, and the entertainment on show is often intoxicating. On back-to-back weekends, Pahang were involved in two matches that finished 4-2, Kelantan’s match with Terengganu was a nail-biter, as was The Turtles win over Lions XII. This is an entertaining League.
Away from “Live”, and Astro Arena’s programming, coverage is limited to the odd summary on inside pages in newspapers, Live games and nothing else on TV, and next to zero radio coverage. Even online and Social media coverage is predominantly courtesy enthusiastic fans who post content on their own initiative.
Even if you take out the big two in Malaysia, there are stories aplenty. In relegation terms, it seems a three-team battle to avoid the drop with ATM, Sime Darby and Sarawak all seemingly hell-bent on getting themselves relegated. In mid-table, the surges in form of Terengganu and LionsXII have been fun to watch – Terengganu in particular – and should provide good copy.
And yet, there’s no hype about the League. Television coverage is essential for a League to be constantly on the radar of the general public. And not just live games, but previews and highlight shows, analysis and debate, and showcasing local talent in a positive way. There seems to be very little of the surrounding “buzz” to this season.
In this sprint to the line in Malaysia, I have been searching high and low for TV coverage of the League. There are live games (three last Saturday), and some news highlights. And that’s it.
No real debate about Perak’s slump or the six-way race for third place in the table. No analysis on the defensive problems afflicting ATM, nor the injury crisis engulfing Perak. No assessment of the challenges ahead for the top two as they close in on the title. Nothing. No programming to promote the National league and give context.
I’ve been in the region long enough to have heard multiple reasons why local football doesn’t resonate as much as it once did. And when scheduling of fixtures is as disrupted as it has been this season, and headlines are generated by unnecessary distractions such as Coaches being “rested” when everyone knows they’ve been sacked in all but name, there is some understanding as to why media’s decision makers are reluctant to get too close to the action.
I’d like to say that it’s their loss. And in many ways it is. But it would be so much better if the media was persuaded that getting behind the local league was worth it. It’s entertaining and dramatic – not quite as dramatic as the political stories ongoing on at the moment – but at a time when Malaysia NEEDS good news stories , this is one heck of a story. It’s a shame it’s so hidden on the inside back pages, and largely ignored by the broadcast media.
Featured Image Credit: Asiana.my
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