The (FAM) is the governing body for
Soccer in
Malaysia , responsible for organising the
Malaysian National Football Team and the major soccer tournaments within the country.
Football arrived in
Malaya with the British. The locals soon picked up the game, and before long it was the country's leading sport. Towards the end of the nineenth century, football was one of the central pillars of most sports clubs in Malaya. But it was not structured. Even when the Selangor Amateur Football League took shape in 1905 – which ensured proper administration and organisation – the competition was confined only to clubs in the
Kuala Lumpur area.
In 1921, a national tournament featuring all the states that made up Malaya was started. The competition, known as the
Malaya Cup (later renamed the
Malaysia Cup in 1963), has been continuously since then, except during the war years.
In 1926 the Selangor Amateur Football League was established, and in 1936 the
Football Association Of Selangor was formed. While the Selangor FA was moving towards organised football, and inspiring other states in Malaya to follow suit, the battleship
HMS Malaya visited the country in 1920. After engaging local opposition in football and rugby, the officers and men of HMS Malaya decided to commemorate the matches by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both rugby and football in
Malaya .
In 1926, the
Football Association Of Perak , the Football Association of Selangor, the
Football Association Of Negri Sembilan , the
Football Association Of Malacca and the
Singapore Amateur Football Association came together to form the (MFA), in order to field a Malayan team against an
Australia n side that visited
Singapore that year.
In 1933, the MFA was revived to form the (FAM). Initially, the FAM was based in Singapore. It was chiefly responsible for the running of the Malaya Cup competition. The annual tournament – played along inter-state lines – was a huge success.
The first president of FAM was
Sir Andrew Caldecott , followed by M.B. Shelley, Dr. J.S. Webster, S.D. Scott, R. Williamson and Adrian Clark, who served up until 1940 – before Europe went on a full-scale war with Germany . In 1940, control of the FAM moved from Singapore to Malaya, with A.R. Singham becoming the first
Asia n secretary in 1941.
The FAM's first president after the war was J. King, to be followed by H. Byson, and then Dr. C Rawson, who served for two years before vacating for the first ever non-British personality to take over the helm. In 1951,
Tunku Abdul Rahman (who was to become the first
Prime Minister Of Malaysia ) became the FAM president. It was under Abdul Rahman that football entered in Malaysia entered its next phase, with the FAM taking a much bigger role than just being the backbone in the organisation of the Malaysia Cup.
The FAM was inducted as one of 14 founding members of the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954, before becoming a full-fledged member of
FIFA two years later.
Tunku Abdul Rahman's love for the game was the main catalyst which resulted in the construction of the
Merdeka Stadium and in 1957 it became hallowed ground for all Malaysians when it was the venue chosen to announce Malaysia's independence from Britain. It also signalled the birth of the
Merdeka Tournament (''Pestabola Merdeka''), that was to all intents and purposes the centrepiece of the independence celebrations. The Merdeka Tournament proved to be a huge success, inspiring similar tournaments like the Jakarta Anniversary tournament, the
King's Cup in
Thailand , and President's Cup in
South Korea . The inaugural tournament – then the premier football competition in Asia – was won by
Hong Kong . However, Malaya won the title three years in a row, in 1958 and in 1959 ,and sharing it with South Korea in 1960. The country qualified for the
1972 Olympics and the
1980 Olympics .
Following the change in name to the Football Association of Malaysia in the early 1960s, Tunku Abdul Rahman continued to play a big role in the development of the game through various youth competitions. Following his departure in 1974, the reins of the FAM was taken over by Malaysia's second Prime Minister –
Tun Abdul Razak , who served for just one year. The post was then filled by Tan Sri Datuk Seri Setia Raja Hamzah Haji Abu Samah in 1976, who was the Minister for Trade and Industry at the time.
Between 1976 and 1984, various football activities were introduced under Tan Sri Datuk Seri Raja Hamzah, and Malaysian football reached a new height in the international arena following his appointment as the AFC president.
The FAM entered a new era of modernization and professionalism when His Royal Highness the Sultan of Pahang,
Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah , took over. His Royal Highness was integral in the growth of football in the new era with the introduction of the semi-pro league in 1989 before the game went fully professional several years later. Among the high points in Malaysian football under His Royal Highness was the successful hosting of the
1997 FIFA World Youth Championship , as well as the organisation of the Premier League, which has been called the
Malaysian Super League since 2004.
The glory days of Malaysian football in the 1970s and 80s, when names like
Mokhtar Dahari ,
Santokh Singh and
Soh Chin Aun would strike fear in teams all over Asia and Malaysia used to beat South Korea and
Japan are gone. Football in Malaysia is in the doldrums. The
Pre World Cup Qualifying Campaign For The 2006 ended with Malaysia losing all their matches and losing to Hong Kong, ranked lower than them.
The
Malaysian Super League was introduced in 2004 with the hope of raising football standards and the FAM are optimistic the league will bring Malaysia out of the international football wilderness.
The FAM after years have been subject to criticism by many including the locals. Many fans are unhappy with the ever changing league format and the decline in the standard in the local league and national team. The fact that the FAM introduces ''
Ad Hoc '' decisions has also marred its relationship with several state affliliates. There was a stage when the FAM allowed 4 imports, but within months changed its ruling to only allowing 3 to be eligible for every affliate, making teams loose out on compensation over termination of foreign players contratcs. A recent spat over the FAM's unprofessionalism saw the
Football Association Of Sarawak (FAS) denied its 3-1 victory for the suspicion of fielding an ineligible player due to the FAM's ruling which only came into effect after the player played put Sarawak back into rough waters with its parent body and although the player was mysteriously allowed to play after half of the season has ended, many fans are still unhappy that FAS remains the only association under the microscope of the FAM.
The FAM has also been recently underfire from the press and the local football fans due to its dismal performance in the Asian Cup where the Malaysian team lost all its games to China 5-1, Uzbekistan 5-0 and finally Iran 2-0. The FAM "claim" major revamps are underway to help Malaysia raise its footballing standards.
