Tunku Ismail is still FAM boss: Sec-gen
Published on: Saturday, March 17, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's statement on his resignation from the national football governing body is more of a reaction against a group of netizens who often blame him whenever the Malaysian squad's ranking goes down.FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said Tunku Ismail did not need to step down as president of FAM just because of disagreement by a group of people."People should remember that FAM make headways and achieve success under Tunku Ismail's tenure of almost a year, and he has been FAM president since March 25, 2017. Just because of the ranking issue, we should not lose a reputable individual, who is eager and earnest to restore the country's football glory.
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"I was actually shocked after reading the Tunku Mahkota of Johor's statement that he should resign as FAM president following a drop in Harimau Malaya's ranking by three positions to 178th in the world, yesterday afternoon."I, and all the members of the FAM Executive Committee have agreed to stand firmly behind Tunku Ismail as FAM president, and wish for him to remain in office," he said in a statement, Friday.Hamidin said Tunku Ismail had managed to increase the value of the Malaysia League by obtaining lucrative sponsorships, and allowing each Super League team to enjoy an incentive of RM3 million, and each Premier League team RM1 million, per season.The national junior teams also showed impressive performances, with Datuk Ong Kim Swee's U-23 squad managing to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2018 U-23 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship; the U-19 squad managed by Bojan Hodak qualified for the U-19 AFC Championship; the U-16 squad in the 2018 U-16 AFC Championship; and the national men's futsal squad in the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship.
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Tunku Ismail's credibility has also facilitated FAM to collaborate with various parties around the world and further strengthen its relationship with Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)."If Tunku Ismail resigns, we will lose sponsors, and I cannot imagine who is more eligible to replace him as FAM president. In my opinion, all FAM affiliates agree that Tunku Ismail is currently the only person who really deserves to hold the post of FAM president," he said.
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Hamidin said Tunku Ismail's statement yesterday also caught the attention of representatives from FIFA and the AFC, who contacted him over the matter, and they agreed that Tunku Ismail should continue to helm FAM, and not resign.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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