SPACE FOR IMPROVEMENT: Johor Darul Ta’zim’s success, says the Crown Prince of Johor, can be used to resuscitate the game at the national level. Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim explains how to Vijesh Rai.
Question: Tunku, you were recently in Spain for a world football symposium. How would you describe your experience?
Answer: It opened my eyes. I realised we are very, very behind when it comes to football. After doing a lot of studying and talking to many people, I realised that the only way Malaysian football can change is not to be too dependent on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as all the other affiliates and all the other clubs have to play a part.
Sports have been used for political mileage and this is not helping. One of my initiatives is that we have to stop using government money for football.
Question: Where then should funding come from?
Answer: Private sponsorship. Mine (Johor Darul Ta’zim), not even one sen comes from the (Johor) government. The government’s money is the people’s money.
Other teams — my competitors — spend RM30 million to RM40 million. You cannot — every time you run out of money — go to the prime minister, Federal Government... that is wrong.
If you have say RM10 million, then spend within your means. But if you are going to get RM10 million and spend RM20 million, obviously you are going to be broke by the end of the season.
Question: How can we change the mentality where football means state or Federal Government sponsorship?
Answer: The problem is their own setup. I would like to share my ideas with all the other affiliates.
Do they want to take it? I don’t know but at least, I would like to be closer to my competitors, which means in the field, we compete like hell but outside the field, we should be helping each other as I see there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to managing a football team.
They see it as just 11 men, buying four foreigners and competing every year instead of seeing it as a business.
Also the (Malaysian Super League) TV rights. The TV rights should be the backbone of the clubs.
But FAM is whacking the TV rights. They are taking up to 40 per cent of the TV rights and giving us 20 per cent. How do you expect the clubs to live?
That is why you have clubs that can’t pay salaries — like Kelantan and the Armed Forces. Selangor was also facing a bit of a problem. It is the club’s responsibility, but they need to have a better (share) of the TV rights.
Question: What other avenues should clubs look at other than TV rights for funds?
Answer: I remember when Astro was handling football and I was told that whenever JDT played, there was higher viewership as people liked to see the JDT way.
The problem, I think, is the lack of knowledge and the wrong people being in the associations and clubs.
A lot of people who don’t understand football say this is all FAM’s fault. It is not FAM’s fault. It is you, you have to take care of your own home. You cannot expect FAM to come in and clean your house.
Look at Thailand: they spend two times less than us but are doing super well.
Question: How can teams get sponsors?
Answer: The problem is, people in the associations are not giving the sponsors confidence. You need to know what you are talking about, you need to be as transparent as possible so they know where their money is going.
If I am out of JDT tomorrow, I think we will lose half our money. One hundred per cent because no one is going to be that confident to put in that kind of money into the project.
You know why Malaysian football has not improved until today? People say its is FAM. I don’t blame FAM. I blame the affiliates because they do not know on what ground they are standing on.
Question: There is going to be a shift in focus for JDT next year. What exactly are the plans?
Answer: Development is our first priority for next year. When we started the project in 2013, I was given two choices by Peter Kenyon (former Manchester United chief executive officer) and Peter Lim (Valencia owner), and Jorge Mendes — Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent — and Mr Miguel (Angel Gil Martin), the owner of Atletico Madrid were also there (at the meeting).
They said you have a choice whether you want your voice to be heard. If yes, you have to make a lot of noise so people know you are serious, which is called quick success... buying the best players.
Then, the other one, you put everything in your youth development. You will get results but that will come after five to 10 years.
So I said okay, for the world to know who we are, we need quick success. A short period of success. Now we have done it, we have won seven titles in the last 3 ½ years.
Now I say, if we are going to spend and spend challenging for titles, we are going to go broke.
So I told my guys, next year you pull the brake. Concentrate more on your youth development project and let’s focus on making money for the club and then see whether in 2018 or 2019, we can spend again and start challenging for titles again.
Question: Are you looking at building from the Johor grassroots only?
Answer: No. Seventy per cent will be from Johor and 30 per cent from the rest of Malaysia because I feel that it is not fair if I just focus here.
My main priority is to Johoreans, but at the same time, if I can produce talent from outside of Johor who end up playing in another team, so be it. For at the end of the day, all these people are going to end up playing for my national team.
The priority now is not just raise the standard of Malaysian football, but also help the national team deliver results in the next number of years. It’s going to be very challenging because you cannot have instant success. We need plenty of time and we need to have foreign expertise as well. We cannot be arrogant.
Question: This concerns the four (JDT) players who have retired from the national team. Will you, in future, ask them to reconsider their decision?
Answer: I can guarantee you that if I take over the national team, they will be playing again. These are professional athletes. Their bread and butter comes from football.
What happens if some day they get injured, if something bad happens? There goes their livelihood. They love their country, but they want to play under a professional management.
Why is it that only in Malaysia, players report for up to two to three weeks? Why (is it that) everywhere else in the world, (it is) seven days (before) for serious competition. For a normal friendly, it’s four days. But here, up to two to three weeks because someone wants to make money from the hotel to claim.
The problem is every time you want to tell the truth, there is a lot of blockage. When you do not address the matter, you do not recognise the problem, how do we implement change?
The biggest problem in Malaysian football is corruption. If you can clean up the mess, even if you can’t clean 100 (per cent), you clean up 50 (per cent), you will see changes in how the league is run, how professional the other teams and the national team are going to be.
Question: When you say corruption, do you mean the management structure?
Answer: Yes, the management structure. For example, previously, FAM needed RM21 million from Astro to run the league.
Today, FMLLP (Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership) has gotten RM21 million from MP Silva (FAM’s sports media rights partner) to run the league. RM24 million is given to the teams, which means RM1 million to each in the Super League and Premier League.
That is wrong.
(For) Super League (teams), it should be RM3 million and then, probably, RM1 million to the Premier League clubs so the Premier League teams have to fight to get into the Super League.
And then, I asked Kevin Ramalingam (chief executive officer of FMLLP), what are you going to do with the balance of RM30 over million?
He said FAM took it. I said: “I beg your pardon, what do you mean byFAM took it?”
He said they asked for it.
So, there is RM30 million extra that is not being given to the teams participating in Malaysia and God knows where it goes.
Question: Do you feel like you are a lone voice fighting for this as FAM is made up of the states?
Answer: Yes, I am a lone voice. If I am selfish, I will keep quiet and JDT will dominate every year, but football is not going to get any better. And I am not selfish.
That is why it is called a competition. I want to see healthy competition.
For healthy competition, things need to be done correctly. If I don’t care about football, if I don’t care about my national team, why am I voicing out?
I am voicing out because I want our national team to do well. I am frustrated at how the national colours are booed because things are not being run correctly.
Question: Can you expand on your statement that if you took over the national team?
Answer: If the new FAM president decides I am going to play a part in terms of the management of the national team, I think I would be interested.
I want to find a proper coach, a proper system. A good fitness programme, really high intensity training.
I want to change the structure. Today, all we see is the AFF Cup. Dream bigger. Asian qualification, Olympic Games... go bigger. If we don’t get there, it doesn’t matter. We will keep trying but if you are only going to see the AFF Cup as your target, then it is difficult.
Question: Tunku, you have said you do not want to contest the FAM president’s post. Can this change?
Answer: I am not interested because there will then be a conflict of interest. I own JDT. If I go to FAM and JDT win the league, what will people say?
I do not want to be FAM president but I want to be a voice in FAM, probably to tell FAM to devise new rules of competition.
Teams must have proper grassroots programmes. You cannot just throw you money on buying four foreign players. The priority should be local players.
When Jorge Pereyra Diaz scored 31 goals, everyone was happy but I wasn’t.
I called the coach and the whole team and said we have a problem.
This guy scored 31 goals but what about the rest? The local players are 80 per cent of the team. I want to see improvement so raising the quality of local players should be the priority.
Question: The new FAM president will have a lot on his plate and will need to carry a big stick to make changes. Can he do this?
Answer: He will need a big stick or someone big above him. There must be change. We have to change for the sake of Malaysian football. If not, we are not going to get anywhere and it is going to get worse and worse.
Question: Who will Johor nominate for the FAM president’s post?
Answer: From my point of view, Tan Sri Aseh (Che Mat, former Home Ministry secretary-general). Why? He is experienced, very neutral and very straightforward. He was also in FAM (ethics committee).
Give it to him. Have the right exco (executive committee), have the right people.
Question: The exco will be elected by FAM affiliates. How do you get the “right” exco in?
Answer: That is the problem. That is why I need to have a meeting with them and say look, I am giving you a formula and how we can improve the standard of our football and the national team.
If you love football, you do but if you don’t care about the wishes of the public, then don’t do anything which you have been doing for the last 30 years. It is in their hands.
Basically, what we need is young blood coming in. Guys who do their work because of their interest in football, to see the sport progress.
Question: How receptive is Tan Sri Aseh to becoming the FAM president?
Answer: I have met him and he is all the way with me. He agrees with all my views and will put in most of the things that I have said as his plans.
Question: Will Tunku be adviser to the FAM president?
Answer: I may not be the adviser, but perhaps, the royal patron. That is if they want me. If they don’t, it is not a concern as I am not asking. But if you want me there, I can be there because I have unfinished business with Malaysian football and the national team.
Question: FAM has, since Malaysia lost to the Philippines in the 1991 Sea Games, chopped and changed the structure and yet, results have not been forthcoming. Tunku, your thoughts on this.
Answer: We have to hire a good sports director for FAM. He should be a professional, a foreigner and has no affiliation to anyone or any team. He is going to tell you what needs to be done and you have to listen to him. That is how you raise the standard.
To me, key changes is having the right people in the organisation. As long as you don’t have the right people, this is going to continue.
Question: Tunku, when you started the JDT project, it was to make an immediate impact. Will this be the approach for FAM?
Answer: You have to demand from all the other affiliates to be more professional, which means a rule next year is that all affiliates must have a grassroots development programme.
You have to upgrade all your football facilities. If you say you don’t have enough money, its a no, no.
If you have a budget of RM5 million, you spend RM2 million on your first team and RM3 million on every other thing.
In fact, I believe the NFDP (National Football Development Programme) money should go to the states because currently, they are not bothered about development as the NFDP looks after it.
The other one, if any team is guilty of not paying salaries for more than a couple of months, it is relegated or banned from participating.
Meetings must not be in Wisma FAM. General meetings should be spread out over the states so that the affiliates are really, really close as I saw in Spain, England.
Question: Tunku, in your discussions with the affiliates, how receptive are they to your ideas?
Answer: You have to understand there is a dilemma in FAM. One, they really are desperate for change in terms of the broadcasting rights for all the teams and also for the performance of the national team.
The other one, they want change but are scared. If Tunku Mahkota Johor comes into the picture, how are they going to make money because I would like to know how much of a budget you have.
I want to know everything and that is why my condition to them is if you really want me to be president — which I am not interested in — the first thing I want to see is your deal with MP Silva.
Even if we have a new president and the deal with MP Silva is binding, that means Malaysian football is going to remain the same unless you can terminate that deal without any legal implications.
I don’t think they want me as a president because I will dig everything up.
Question: Did Tunku watch the Malaysia Cup final and would JDT set its sights on winning it again?
Answer: No. Where would the Malaysia Cup take JDT? Yes, we would be champions but only “jaguh kampung”, whereas winning the league or the FA Cup will take us to the AFC Cup. Isn’t that what we should be aiming for?
I know Malaysians will be angry with me but honestly, where will the Malaysia Cup get JDT to?
However, if the format is changed whereby JDT don’t have to play Malaysia Cup matches three days after a league match, we will be interested.
Otherwise, rename the Malaysia Cup to Malaysia FA Cup through which we can qualify for AFC (Asian Football Confederation) competitions.
Otherwise, JDT will remain focused on the league and the FA Cup as it takes us to the AFC championships.
JDT is the only team thinking of AFC competitions while the rest are only thinking of domestic competitions.
Question: It is a difficult job, to change the landscape of Malaysian football. How can you do it?
Answer: Just thinking about it gives me a headache. It is like freezing a volcano. That is how tough it is. Unless I have these people in the same boat with me and they say, you lead the way, we follow.
Question: If they (affiliates) don’t change, do you see Malaysian football going forward?
Answer: No. We have to change, all of us. If not, we are not going to get anywhere and it is going to get worse and worse.
Another problem here is favouritism. If anyone wants to repeat after me (on) what killed Malaysian football, it is corruption, favouritism and living in denial.
I give you an example. My player Fadhli Saas can’t even get on the bench because he did not perform well in training and then, you get a national call-up for the (AFF) Suzuki Cup by (national coach) Ong Kim Swee.
The guy didn’t play one game. Why? You are supposed to rate a player based on his performance, not because you like him.
There are a lot of other defenders in the country but why do you always take from JDT, Selangor, Perak and Kedah?
You have a lot of Felda players who did well, some T-Team players who did well ... spread it out.
But it always the same players. That is why Ong Kim Swee and I can never work together. I do not understand what goes on in there.
Question: Tunku, what is your hope for the national team in the AFF Cup?
Answer: Well, I hope they do well, though I doubt they will. We are going to support them and even if they win, they cannot be easily satisfied.
Malaysians must change our mentality. Even draws are praised. Then, FAM is happy because the media is on their side.
I give you another example. The national team lose 3-1 to Barcelona and yet, they are praised. You celebrate losing. A defeat is a defeat and the fact that it is celebrated shows our mentality.
Despite JDT winning the league title for three consecutive years, I was arguing with the coach the next day on how we can improve for next season. You know why? It is because no one is easily satisfied in JDT.
Question: Tunku, are you still in love with football?
Answer: Well, at the moment I am but if I get fed up, I will leave and the loser will be Malaysian football. I am not interested in disturbing the rice bowl of anyone. All I want is for Malaysian football to thrive and I believe that if all are willing to work together, we can do it.