For more than 40 years, Malaysian football has been emasculated on the international front due to our impotent national men’s teams. And now back home, the evolution of the national competition (M-League) takes a startling twist.
Just when jaded local fans thought they have seen it all in two decades of professional football, the 2016 season blows in with the stirring scent of a woman.
You see, the M-League has become fair game for the fair sex. Led by Datuk Seri Dr Hasmiza Othman, the cosmetics queen known as Dr Vida, some women aim to penetrate a men-dominated sport.
When many sponsors shy away, Dr Vida is game enough to lend her financial muscle to the Kelantan football team.
The gallant lady charged in like a knight in shining armour when the Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) was in distress over paying its players their salaries and other money woes.
Dr Vida offered Kafa a way out of its financial abyss by dangling a RM16 million lifeline with several conditions attached with marketing and branding as her goals.
A grateful Kafa grabbed the offer. In return, she asked that the Kelantan players be dressed in pink instead of their traditional red jerseys, their stadium be repainted pink and the team renamed as Pamoga Qu Puteh The Red Warriors.
Pink may seem feminine but Kafa is happy enough to ink a two-year deal even if it turns the faces of some macho fans of the Red Warriors red.
For those who find this rather wacky, don’t snigger. Even the great Cristiano Ronaldo, the three-time World Player of the Year, wears pink boots when he turns out for Real Madrid.
When the world economy is not in the pink of health, when money and sponsors are hard to come by, Kelantan agreed to this marriage of convenience.
Viva Dr Vida! The 44-year-old entrepreneur may just be the modern day version of the legendary 16th century heroine Tun Fatimah that Kelantan needs to make the state rise again.
“Pink makes a man look more dignified and modern,” said Dr Vida.
In the same breath, Malaysian teams should not be sheepish to rely on women to regain their strengths and dignity.
Kelantan’s benefactress has made it clear that she is not only interested in making cosmetic changes but is also targeting an all-embracing transformation in the team set-up.
Dr Vida, who has big plans for Kelantan, wants to turn the team into the kingpin of the M-League. She announced that she intends to go to great clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea to study their systems.
Like they say, behind every successful man there stands a woman, now there is every likelihood that Kelantan, with a resourceful woman behind it, will be successful.
Dr Vida is a woman of true grit, having gone through many ups and downs in her life, and she also suffered the heart-wrenching tragedy of losing two sons in a fire at her house in 2013.
A former teacher at SJK (C) Poi Lam, Ipoh, she worked part time at a factory and at fast food restaurants to pay for her university expenses. During her schooldays, she sold “kacang putih and nasi bungkus” for pocket money.
Kafa president Tan Sri Annuar Musa said Dr Vida has great ideas and succeeded in creating a new euphoria in the country’s football scene.
On Tuesday, the M-League spotlight will be on the “pink” Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV in Kota Baru when Kelantan plays its first home match of the season, against Police.
And, Kelantan is ready to clean up its act, on and off the field. Dr Vida, who has been made the honorary adviser to Kafa, has advised fans not to bring “kuaci” into the stadium.
Dr Vida’s entry has aroused much interest. In comparison, the PKNS FC team, sponsored by Extra Power Root Energy Drink which contains Tongkat Ali to increase their players’ performance, raised much less attention in the media.
Kafa has taken proactive steps to be self-reliant in operating its team, which is required of a professional outfit.
Yet, the M-League still has errant teams habitually going to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) or state governments with beggar bowl in hand when facing financial difficulty.
Other cosmetics companies like Nouvelles Visages are also ready to join the beautiful game as football is called by Pele. And, if the M-League teams courting them are attractive enough, they will take the plunge.
Nouvelles Visages’ managing director Rita Sosilawati, the daughter of murdered businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya, said her company is keen to be a sponsor and has been in discussion with three M-League clubs.
At a time when many teams in the M-League find it hard to woo sponsors or partners, the entry of cosmetics companies is refreshing and appreciated.
Lastly, with the national team failing to perform most of the time, FAM should make Dr Vida an adviser to the national body.
Chan Wai Kong is NST deputy sports editor who sees life differently after waking up from a coma following a car accident in Vancouver, Canada