AFTER three years in existence, the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) has grown exponentially. DEVINDER SINGH details Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s assessment, hopes and plans for the future of the programme, which has become the envy of and the largest of its kind in the region
Question: After three years, how do you assess the progress of NFDP?
Answer: Overall, I am satisfied with the progress of NFDP. As of today, we have almost 23,000 trainees in 123 centres or academies across the country. This involves trainees aged seven to 17, who are trained by 1,025 full-time and part-time coaches. This is a big number we have achieved in just three years. There was a football development programme when I became sports minister but the scope was very limited. NFDP which was launched on Apr 10, 2014 by the prime minister is very different from what we inherited in scope, philosophy, support services, coaching development and opening of new academies. However, we are not done with our work until we are able to reach 55,000 trainees by 2020 and until the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (in Gambang) is fully open next year. Also we want to see more coaches coming through and placed at the academies and to qualify for the Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
Question: Where did the idea for NFDP come from?
Answer: The idea is a simple one because there was a dearth of development programmes, mainly restricted to sports schools. Elite teams formed under the previous football development programme lacked the scope and depth we have today. At the time, the state FAs were not serious in handling development so we decided to take over fully the development of youth football under NFDP.
Question: What is the feedback from parents, coaches and players?
Answer: Feedback from the parents has been very positive. This is the biggest football development programme in Southeast Asia which is handled by the central government. Trainees and their parents do not even have to pay a sen for training and coaching. We only ask their support for their children. Over 55,000 youth players come for trials every year in January but only less than half are given places in Akademi Tunas and district training centres. NFDP has become a competitive programme and when the players arrive here, they are guaranteed training three times a week and a game each week. Previously, exposure was limited to carnival tournaments but now every week there are organised league matches between the academies.
Question: When will we see the fruits of the programme?
Answer: If we look at the first generation senior elite team, they are currently aged around 15. To qualify for the Under-17 World Cup, then that will be in two years. The qualifying tournament starts this year.
Question: How do you view the work of NFDP project director Lim Teong Kim?
Answer: For sure the coaching leadership is an important element. Three months after I was appointed I picked Teong Kim to become project director and given the specific task of coaching the elite team as well as broadening the reach of the programme. Now I have asked him to pay attention to the Mokhtar Dahari Academy and I have added coaches and experts there. We have coaches from Paris St Germain who have been tasked with coaching development at grassroots level. The playing philosophy at NFDP was also developed by Teong Kim. We try to ensure the philosophy — whether at the elite team in Gambang right through the Akademi Tunas at state level — is constant and based on possession play and pace. Teong Kim has instilled important attitudes and attributes among the players that to consider themselves as successful, they must aim to play overseas. Over the last three years we have instilled this idea not to limit themselves to playing in Malaysia. The revolving-door system developed by Teong Kim has been very effective as it does not guarantee a player will remain in the elite team if performances are not maintained. This system is important to keep the players on their toes. The Young Tigers programme (maintained by FA of Malaysia previously) was limited to a small squad and dependent on 20 to 30 players only. Here we have 23,000 players to choose from.
Question: When will the players be allowed to leave the programme and join football clubs?
Answer: At the age of 17. The system allows them to stay with us until Form 5 and after finishing their examinations and obtaining basic educational qualification, they can go. Our view is that it does not matter for players up to 17-years-old whether they are training here or elsewhere, it is after that is important when we start for clubs overseas for them. There have been clubs making enquiries of our players, and the players do want to go, but we urged them to finish school first. Not all of the 23,000 players will become professional football players, some will end there itself. Not all will go overseas either, only the best of the best will go abroad. The rest can choose to play locally and these are the ones where a transition plan is needed from NFDP to clubs. This is something we need to talk to FAM about.
Question: A few Malaysian players have tried unsuccessfully to play overseas. Could this happen to NFDP players as well?
Answer: NFDP products have become used to travelling and playing overseas. When they travel it is not for short periods either, they are away for two months at a time. We are trying to get them acquainted with football played overseas. When you look at NFDP, the elite team hit their peak not here or in the region but in Europe or in Japan. We believe that through this exposure, the NFDP players will not become like those who tried their luck overseas and could not cope with the lack of confidence, communication problems and unfamiliarity with the environment. The boys here have learnt from a young age that they need to adapt to different competitive conditions. I am confident that with this mentality, when given the chance to go abroad, they will not make a U-turn home. They will try their best to prove themselves.
Question: What are the plans going forward for NFDP?
Answer: We have to expand but it is also a function of cost but under the programme we have another three years to expand to 55,000 players and also to increase the number of academies. I hope this can be realised. There are certain states like in Sabah and Sarawak where we need to add more academies. The distances between one district to the next in Sabah and Sarawak can be great. So we are not able to offer the frequency of competition like those in the peninsular. We will find the needed budget to ensure we can expand. There are certain things we have not been able to implement fully which we are looking into, for instance girls’ football, which is in plans but not been able to operationalise a plan. That is something we want to try to do.
Question: What is being done to improve coaching levels?
Answer: We place a lot of emphasis on coaching education and that is why we have 1,025 coaches under the programme paid salaries or allowances. We want to ensure there is a career path for them from C-licence to the highest level. Every year we hold a seminar for the coaches where they come to Kuala Lumpur and listen to experts from all over the world so that they are kept up to date.
Question: How is the support from the private sector?
Answer: The support has been good. Last year we received sponsorship of RM5 million from the private sector which allayed some of the cost of the programme. I hope our strategic partners will remain with us as they can see the results themselves and that the development of our football is on the right track.
Question: What about the cost of the programme and its future sustainability?
Answer: It depends from year to year. Some years we spend RM10 million because that is all there is. Some years we get more but it is never less than RM10 million needed to conduct the NFDP annually. Consistency of a programme depends on building a credible institution. We have a secretariat under the National Sports Council which works with the education ministry. At first there were problems but now everything is running smoothly. The education ministry provides the school field and players and some teachers act as coaches while we try to improve their levels as coaches. When the structure is there, the question of sustainability comes down to the allocation. Thankfully, we get a special allocation from the government each year to conduct this programme. Unless there is an effort to cut our funding, this programme is sustainable and can go on indefinitely. Not to mention, this programme is a national policy and approved by the cabinet itself.