Sports analyst: Hannah Yeoh’s world-class football ambition won’t work while FAM remains tainted

Senior sports analyst Datuk Pekan Ramli has warned that Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s ambitious plan for Malaysia to become a world-class football nation will remain unfeasible as long as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is led by its current personnel. — Scoop file pic, November 16, 2025


Sports analyst: Hannah Yeoh’s world-class football ambition won’t work while FAM remains tainted


Pekan Ramli says that FAM’s credibility is so severely damaged that only a complete reset, starting from scratch — can salvage Malaysian football’s future



Sandru Narayanan
Updated 1 minute ago
16 November, 2025
12:00 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR — Senior sports analyst Datuk Pekan Ramli has warned that Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s ambitious plan for Malaysia to become a world-class football nation and secure consistent World Cup appearances by 2040 will remain unfeasible as long as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is led by its current personnel.




Speaking to Scoop, Pekan argued that FAM’s credibility is so severely damaged that only a complete reset — starting from scratch — can salvage Malaysian football’s future.

Earlier, Hannah Yeoh had outlined her vision for Malaysian football to reach world-class standards and make consistent appearances at the World Cup within six to ten years after 2030, emphasising structured development from grassroots to elite levels.

However, Pekan said such targets are overly optimistic given the present state of the national league and the mindset of players and officials.

“Whatever Hannah Yeoh proposes cannot work while FAM is tainted. The people currently in charge have compromised the system so deeply that rebuilding trust must come first,” he said.

According to Pekan, recent controversies — ranging from anonymous letters to the scandal involving falsified heritage players — have struck at the very heart of FAM’s governance.

“These are not minor missteps. They have reset the F:30 roadmap, corrupted the 2019–2022 first phase and even parts of phase two (2023–2026). There is no solid foundation left in terms of administration, not when external interference, a chaotic domestic league, and a deeply fractured youth ecosystem dominate the picture,” he said.

He pointed out that the Malaysian league is plagued by mismanagement, including inconsistent scheduling, unbalanced competition rules, and a widespread integrity crisis.

“These are not the building blocks of a world-class national side. We can talk all we like about becoming a top-five Asian team by 2026 — but we are nowhere near mentally or structurally ready for World Cup-level football.”

Pekan emphasised that the priority must be cleansing FAM of its current leadership and restoring credibility before focusing on grassroots development or long-term international ambitions.

“The next three to five years should be about rebuilding trust — with fans, sponsors, and international partners. Only after that can Malaysia pivot back to serious development: strengthening club and academy structures, organising consistent and competitive youth leagues, and exposing young players to overseas tournaments and regular stints with foreign academies.”

He also warned that the current target of consistent World Cup participation could be unrealistic unless FAM undertakes comprehensive reforms.

“A more practical 15-year goal would be to become the number-one team in Southeast Asia and reach the top five in Asia. Achieving that first would lay a credible foundation for eventual World Cup qualification,” he said.

Pekan was critical of the shortcuts FAM has attempted, particularly the naturalisation of heritage players, which he said backfired and damaged Malaysia’s international reputation.

“The shortcut of naturalising heritage players has hurt our reputation and triggered heavy fines from FIFA. If FAM doesn’t fully reset, we will keep running in the wrong direction,” he said.

He also called for FAM and its subsidiary, the Malaysian Football League (MFL), to be run professionally, with a commercial mindset and integrity at its core.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) needs a full reset for the country’s football sector to head in the right direction, says analyst Pekan Ramli. — Scoop file pic, November 16, 2025


“Treat FAM as a business: strategic commercial planning, independent revenue streams, and modern sports technology investments. That’s the only way to reduce reliance on government funds and rebuild trust with corporate sponsors,” he said.

Acknowledging the looming consequences of FAM’s governance issues, Pekan said that if the association’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) fails, Malaysia’s world ranking could plummet below 150 again, with potential follow-up sanctions from the Asian Football Confederation. “That would undo all the modest progress we had made — it would feel like going back to ‘snakes and ladders’,” he warned.

Despite the bleak outlook, Pekan saw a potential turning point. “This moment of crisis can become the catalyst for long-term growth. If we accept the punishment, learn from it, and rebuild genuinely, we may lay the foundations for 15 to 20 years of sustainable progress. But only if we begin by cleaning house,” he said.

Pekan stressed that elite football requires more than talent; it demands mindset, discipline, and organisational culture.

He pointed to examples in Asia where long-term planning has paid off: Japan only established its professional J.League in 1993 and gradually built itself into an Asian powerhouse, while South Korea’s professional K League, founded in 1983, took decades to reach world-class standards.

Uzbekistan, too, provides a cautionary tale: once considered an underdog, the nation has steadily invested in youth and infrastructure to achieve credible results on the international stage, which recently also resulted in the nation booking a slot to the 2026 World Cup.

“True transformation is gradual and cannot come from shortcuts or slogans. It begins with integrity at the top — not media statements. Until FAM and MFL embrace that principle, even the most ambitious targets, including World Cup participation, remain out of reach,” Pekan concluded. – November 16, 2025