The state sports committee chairman says the Kelantan FA should reconvene its annual congress to address governance issues and lift its FAM suspension.
The Kelantan Football Association (KAFA) has been told to immediately convene its annual congress to resolve the issue of its suspension from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) due to weaknesses in its governance.
Chairman of the State Youth, Sports, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and Unity Committee, Zamkhshari Muhammad, said KAFA’s suspension stemmed from the controversy over the presence of several affiliates, whose status is not recognized by the association.
“Based on the information I have, FAM has instructed KAFA to reconvene its annual congress, but no new date has been set yet.
“This issue needs to be resolved by the middle of next year so that the state’s football development is not affected,” he told Bernama recently.
Zamkhshari stressed that the state government held continuous talks with KAFA, the Sports Commissioner and FAM to find a solution, but he said the state government did not have the legal power to intervene because KAFA is a body registered under the Office of the Sports Commissioner (PJS) and an affiliate of FAM.
“This issue is important because PJS rules do not allow the formation of another football association as long as KAFA is in existence. Only if KAFA’s registration is canceled will a new association be allowed,” he said.
Last December, FAM suspended KAFA’s membership in connection with the procedures for conducting the congress, in line with Article 17 of the FAM statute, which states that the FAM Executive Committee may suspend the membership of any member.
Meanwhile, Zamakhshari said the state government has allocated more than RM2.3 million per year for the development of football, which includes the organization of the State Legislative Elite League (LED), the Menteri Besar Cup, the development of football fields and contributions to authorized private clubs.
“LED serves as a platform for youngsters to attract the attention of talent scouts from professional clubs in the Malaysia League (M-League).
“The cost of fielding a competitive M-League team is very high, at least RM12 million per year.
“The support of all parties is vital to bring Kelantan football back to the pinnacle and KAFA needs to urgently resolve these issues for the future development of the game in the state,” he said. – Bernama
