FOOTBALL is not just a game; it's a livelihood, an industry and a way of life for many. Since Covid-19 started wrecking the M-League in March, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) have fought hard to save the sport.
But inevitably, jobs were lost, salaries were slashed, club debts piled up as Malaysian football is brought to its knees by the pandemic.
The football season was shredded, its match fixtures chopped into half amid empty stadiums as the unrelenting virus kicked the national league half dead.
FAM were banking on the Malaysia Cup competition to save their season and honour their obligations to the sponsors.
But the venerated competition, the oldest in Southeast Asia, lived only for a while, just one round of matches before it, too, joined the Covid-19 fatalities list.
It was unceremoniously abandoned at half time, with the quarter-finals not even completed, not even one match.
The National Security Council didn't "red card" the Malaysia Cup, they only asked for it to be postponed. But FAM decided to cancel it for the first time since World War Two.
FAM did not want to prolong the agonising uncertainty. To drag the competition into another month or beyond means the teams will incur additional costs in salaries. And FAM have had enough of sad stories of players not getting paid.
However, FAM and those in the football fraternity can't help but feel that the authorities blew the final whistle "too early" in Malaysian football.
FAM secretary general Stuart Ramalingam felt that there might be things that the authorities were unaware of when they made the call to postpone the Malaysia Cup in view of the CMCO in most of the country and stop Johor Darul Ta'zim from going to Doha for the AFC Champions League.
"We knew it was going to be difficult but didn't expect the government to ask the Malaysia Cup to be postponed. The impact is not only on the football schedule but also on the contracts with players and coaches. There are also concerns regarding commercial partners," he said.
Stuart said there were just too many moving pieces involved and any further postponement of the Malaysia Cup would affect players' match fitness and teams' rhythm.
He noted that despite Covid-19, countries like Vietnam are still active, keeping their football leagues running and their national team active with training camps. And Malaysia, whose national team have hardly trained this year, will be meeting Vietnam in the pre-World Cup.
"Uzbekistan also played an international friendly with Iran... there are pockets of activities that see international football operating like normal.
"Malaysia are facing the biggest hit as an industry as a whole and it will impact us next year," lamented Stuart.
The national team are scheduled to play the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Thailand between March and June next year in the pre-World Cup. Notably, all the three rivals of Malaysia have football leagues that are ongoing.
If Malaysia falter in the pre-World Cup, some fans would feel it is an opportunity lost for the national team. That is because Harimau Malaya have done well, pre-Covid-19, occupying second place (just two points behind Group G leaders Vietnam) after five matches, winning three.
Asian Football Confederation general secretary Datuk Windsor John said: : "We have to accept everything has been done in good faith and we have to move on when it comes to decisions by government agencies."
However, he felt that the national team will be affected, next year, due to "inactivity" as the players won't have the "match legs" needed to be competitive.