SHOCKING: Malaysian Football Association faces risk of being dissolved due to FIFA sanctions

Malaysian Football Association is under pressure from supporters to dissolve and establish a new body after receiving severe criticism from FIFA's sanction.

The scandal involving forged documents related to seven naturalized players has shaken the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) to its core.This has severely undermined trust in the national football governing body’s credibility. The issue sparked intense debate among Malaysian football fans demanding leadership changes within the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

In fact, there is lively discussion about the possibility of the entire senior management of FAM resigning to allow for a new election. However, one question remains: if elections are held, can it be ensured that the same individuals involved in the scandal will not run again?

If the same people are re-elected through coalition voting, it clearly indicates that the Malaysian Football Association has no intention of making comprehensive reforms. The reputable Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian revealed this has led to strong proposals from fans to dissolve the 99-year-old Malaysian Football Association and replace it with a new federation.

Instantly dissolving a federation without a careful plan is a complicated process since FAM is recognized by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The absolute authority to dissolve FAM lies entirely with the members of the larger governing bodies.

At the governmental level or the Malaysian Sports Commissioner (PJS), there is no basis to intervene and force the dissolution of the association, as the organizational governance structure remains intact and the problem only exists at FIFA’s level.

Moreover, even if dissolved, registering new associations would be time-consuming and could lead to power struggles during registration, with multiple associations seeking entry. This would hinder the nation’s football development, affect player growth, and disrupt local league issues.

Therefore, if there is dissatisfaction with FAM, the best solution is leadership reform through an election congress rather than complete dissolution. FIFA may also be reluctant to approve new federations arbitrarily, as AFC has previously explained, FIFA and AFC.