2016 – A season full of promise, but huge obstacles to overcome.
When London-born Rock and Punk musician, Ian Dury, wrote the song “Reasons to be Cheerful” in 1979, it was at a time when Great Britain was going through an economic malaise, an oil crisis was in the recent past, and football – Liverpool apart – was a dirty word. The next ten years saw a recovery in (some parts of) the UK that repaired some of the economic damage. It took football an additional five years before it became “respectable” to follow the game after the twin nightmares of Heysel and Hillsborough.
Thirty-seven years later, and there seems to be a mirror image in Malaysia. Times are challenging economically, oil prices are crashing and affecting wealth and the economy, and Malaysian domestic football needs its own “Reasons to be Cheerful” after a 2015 in which – Johor Darul Takzim apart – negativity dominated the headlines.
But, the start of 2016 has given us three big “Reasons to be cheerful”, and some hope that it will be five – rather than 15 – years before Malaysian football is at the forefront of Malaysian, and South East Asian, sports focus. Part 2 of this article will take a look at ‘Reasons to be fearful’.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL – 1) FMLLP MAKING SENSE
It was an invigorating experience reading up the report of the recent Football Malaysia Workshop. So many revisions to “the way things are done” were discussed that just seem to make sense. It was refreshing.
The idea of a Malaysia Cup running concurrently with the league so that all professional teams have a full season of fixtures from February through to October is so logical that it’s previous omission seems ludicrous. Aided by the simple expedient of qualification for the Malaysia Cup being determined by League position at the mid-way point of the season, and you have a state of play in both halves of the season that keeps more clubs invested in playing.
Add the simple structure of the FA Cup in which an open draw can re-create the sense of excitement of an FAM team making it through to the latter stages of the competition, and there are more opportunities to keep Malaysian domestic football in the limelight.
The idea of splitting League fixtures through six separate time slots throughout a weekend is, again, so logical that resistance to it was an anathema to this correspondent. The split slots make the schedule TV friendly (see later), and give the dedicated fan the chance to watch multiple matches over the weekend. It also gives the League three separate days each week to make “the football” the news ingredient.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL – 2) RENEWED INVESTMENT
Some serious money has come into the game ahead of the 2016 season. Inspired, or provoked, by JDT’s vision for – and (substantial) investment in – football, the likes of Penang (budget RM 19 million) and Terengganu (a similar budget and high-profile signings) have made significant statements of intent to compete at the top end of the table.
Kelantan have secured a high-profile sponsor in Vida Beauty and have a small but strong squad to keep the Pink/Red Warriors competitive on the field – but the change of playing strip is a difficulty as the moment sponsorship dictates to the game, the balance between commerce and tradition sways too far to the commercial side. It is worrying – to this correspondent at least – that there hasn’t been more of a protest.
Back to the positive, and Felda United have a spanking new football-friendly stadium to show off, whilst Kedah’s heroics in reaching the Malaysia Cup Final will keep their budget competitive, as will Sarawak under K Rajagopal and, despite their losses of personnel, Pahang.
Selangor, of course, won the Malaysia Cup and have since trebled the salaries available for players and the incoming Zainal Abidin Hassan. In addition they have moved to a new training facility.
Even in the Premier League, State teams such as Perlis, Negeri Sembilan Matrix, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur are all looking to re-invigorate their footballing fortunes with some fascinating Coaching appointments, player signings and decent budgets.
There is money in Malaysian football. The question is whether it is being used for short-term gain, or as a long-term investment in football.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL – 3) CAPITAL REVIVAL
Look at any decent League around the world, and the capital city is always well represented. London boasts huge teams like Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham, in addition to a range of other strong clubs. Madrid has Real and Atletico. Rome has Roma and Lazio. Buenos Aires can boast ten top clubs, six of whom have won the Copa Libertadores including giants River Plate, Boca Juniors, Argentinos Juniors and San Lorenzo.
And yet in Malaysia – where football is also the national sport – Kuala Lumpur’s representation and interest in the recent past has been pitiful. Off the pitch, the difficulties in using what are brilliant football venues at the Merdeka and Cheras Stadiums illustrate the problems perfectly. Selayang – KL’s home for 2016 – is no replacement for either of those venues.
On the field, Selangor have thrived in recent seasons despite having one of the lowest budgets in the Super league. And the woes of Kuala Lumpur in the past 20 years make for desperate reading. The likes of Sime Darby, KL SPA, Police and ATM have all played in KL, but could never fill the void for the fan, so the capital has been devoid of a big team for too long.
Yet, there are signs that this is – possibly – about to change. The first indications of a shift in attitude to football in KL came when the excellent KLFA Football Academy in Taman Melawati was opened. And after an attempt to play games at the Merdeka Stadium last season was thwarted by a poor pitch, much-overdue work is being done at Cheras and the hope is that this will become a permanent and iconic home for a revitalised KL.
The much-respected Ismail Zakaria has been appointed Coach, and has assembled a strong squad at Kuala Lumpur with the likes of Helmi Remeli providing defensive experience and Thamil Arasu a forward threat. Mario Karlovic is an astute midfield acquisition and KL promise to challenge for the Premier League Title.
Selangor’s increased budget for incoming Coach Zainal Abidin Hassan is a long-known “secret”, and having accomplished Misi 33, and seemingly stung by JDT’s bold moves, The Red Giants might just become a long-term force to reckon with after several seasons in which their playing budget was one of the smallest in the Super League.
Any strong domestic League needs a strong presence in, or near, the capital. All the main written, online and broadcast facilities are based in or near Kuala Lumpur. Editors and decision makers live and work in the capital and, with domestic football so peripheral to what goes on in the city, it is easy enough – despite the huge interest everywhere except the capital – to brush football aside.
STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO (2) OF THIS ARTICLE – ‘REASONS TO BE FEARFUL AHEAD OF MSL 2016!
Other posts by Dez Corkhill
