AFC highlights major shortcomings in Malaysian football

The primary challenge for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) lies not in staffing, documentation, or funding, but in its institutional culture.

This assessment was made by AFC after nearly a month of reviewing FAM's internal structures under the Quality Audit Assessment Programme.

"If I could use only one word, it would be culture. The organization's culture must change," AFC Deputy General Secretary Vahid Kardany stated on March 16.

"There is a culture of compliance that follows established patterns. Without any external pressure, people assume they should do everything the same way. Such a culture does not exist in successful federations."

Kardany noted that AFC auditors identified the root causes of many structural issues within FAM and warned that meaningful reforms would require altering long-standing organizational behaviors.

"We understood the problem. The core issue is culture. To me, it is clear that the culture of routine compliance is the biggest challenge."

The AFC task force is conducting a comprehensive review of FAM's governance and operational systems, examining everything from statutes, procurement processes, financial systems, staffing structures to decision-making mechanisms.

This effort involves nearly 20 experts and has led to an extensive document review process, covering nearly 100 different operational records from various departments such as finance, marketing, legal, and administration.

Kardany said the review process also included deep discussions with FAM staff and department heads, many of whom openly acknowledged the need for change.

"We worked for almost a month with staff, unit heads, and other colleagues. They were very open and very frank," he said.

AFC will also extend consultations to other stakeholders in the Malaysian football ecosystem, including development programs, competition systems, and national team structures.

"We will review the National Football Development Programme, the national teams, the leagues, and also work with other stakeholders in football," Vahid stated.

Despite delivering a rather stern evaluation, Kardany said FAM's overall situation is not as bad as initially feared.

"The situation is not as poor as we first thought. But if the cultural issue is addressed, many other problems will naturally improve."