BACK in the 1970s and 1980s, Selangor was the king of domestic football. The state won many Malaysia Cup titles. That success was driven by Selangor's economic might.
Nationwide, the best footballers — deemed as "amateurs", but who earned a monthly stipend as "employees" of banks or state government-linked companies — regarded Selangor's grass as a verdant green pasture.
Corporations and state agencies could even dedicate an annual football budget, the envy of other states. This reflects Selangor's economic muscle over the decades, but in the era of professionalism, that big advantage has lost its lustre.
Other ambitious states emulated the Selangor principle, spending serious money to become football powerhouses.
The rise of football teams often runs parallel with the economic might of each state.
Droves of people migrate to Selangor or Kuala Lumpur, including talented footballers, because of poor policies and conservative politics that dampen economic opportunities.
The football management in these states is just as poor. These days, football clubs rely less on state largesse, but more on private funding, enabling the state time and place to create socio-economic policies. One of these policies is anti-poverty.
Penang is set to achieve zero hardcore poverty by June 1. Its football team, though it didn't win any championships in recent years, is competitive, bouncing off the state's dynamic economy.
Focus on a state's economy to create opportunities that can spur growth, attract foreign investment, revitalise employment and curb homelessness.
Granted, this will be difficult to execute amid this economic uncertainty, but growth is achievable if states expand socio-economic policies and get a grip on politics.
Penang, Selangor and Johor are considered success stories because they tempered conservatism and adopted pragmatic economics. It also helped that, historically, these three states were on the British colonial belt: sound infrastructure and administration, boosted by steady growth in the past decades.
While the other states, especially the East Coast, lag. Still, conservative states can learn from Penang's, Johor's and Selangor's economic expansion and poverty elimination. Though their political leaders, while proclaiming various initiatives, tend to fall flat with implementation.
Blame it on party politics that incite racial, religious and cultural dogmatism.
There are mavericks in some conservative states willing to emulate the west coast economic style, but that is frowned on by their conservative order.
Penang, Selangor and Johor will continue to be economic, and football, powerhouses for as long as competition from the other states is negligible.