A GROUP of Iranian journalists, most of whom are football writers, paid a visit to Balai Berita yesterday.

Their main focus of attention was supposed to be the newspaper's operations but they were not about to end their visit, arranged by the Asian Football Confederation, without talking about Malaysian football.

Some of the Iranians have been sportswriters for decades and were fully aware that Malaysia were once a powerhouse in football.

How then, the 17-strong group asked, is Malaysian football in the dire straits that it is in?

Football, they said, is everywhere in the country and yet, Malaysia are no longer a force, which they found hard to believe.
Some pointed an accusing finger at Malaysian newspapers as they found, since arriving in Kuala Lumpur on the first day of the Hari Raya celebrations last week, that focus was more on the English Premier League and European football.

While most, if not all, Malaysian newspapers are guilty as charged, the lack of coverage is local football's own doing and the fraternity knows it.

Still, rather than explain just why local football gets limited column inches in newspapers, here was an opportunity to find out a bit on the structure that has made Iran a powerhouse for so long.

Their players are highly paid and the average income per annum is about US$100,000 (RM345,000) with top stars even reaching the US$500,000 bracket.

Each team is allowed three foreign players while the Iranian league is a three-division structure with the third division divided into two groups.

For those in the know, the Iranian structure seems similar to Malaysia's, with the only difference being the average income.

But the structure of Iranian football doesn't come to a stop there as the most important work, in terms of football development, is done in the regional leagues, which serve as a stepping stone for aspiring footballers to make the top grade.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, it is the opposite as some states don't even have their own leagues while others, citing financial constraints, have no qualms about suspending them.

What matters is top flight status for the mileage it brings and the FA of Malaysia's affiliates have time and again used their muscle to "restructure" the league to suit their tastes.

The Iranians were shocked when told that from next season, foreigners won't be plying their trade in Malaysian football. This was a decision they couldn't understand, given the success foreigners have had in their own leagues.

But for most of us, we stopped a long time ago trying to understand what the administrators are actually doing with Malaysian football.