KUALA LUMPUR: FAM should go on a "football safari" and learn a thing or two from the Africans on improving the sport's ecosystem in Malaysia.
This is the view of sports observer Dr Faithal Hassan who was impressed by some emergent teams at the recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
He commended teams like Equatorial Guinea, Mali and DR Congo for lighting up the AFCON with their refreshing performances though they are not among the traditional powerhouses.
He said it is noteworthy that after decades of relying on foreign coaches, African countries are now more inclined to taking ownership of their sports.
And Faithal feels that this should be the case in Malaysia, especially in football.
"Malaysia can follow what was seen at the AFCON. African football giants are being challenged by those previously seen as insignificant in African football such as Equatorial Guinea, Mali and DR Congo.
"These teams have made remarkable improvement to be able to go up against the likes of Nigeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Senegal," said Faithal, who is Universiti Malaya sports and science exercise faculty deputy dean.
FAM hopes to see the national team making it to the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup, but Father Time is not going to prop up the current national players.
With many of the foreign-born naturalised players on the wrong side of 30, FAM needs to dredge for more new talent. Will they look high and low around the world again?
Faithal said many African countries had weaned themselves off foreign coaches, and built up thriving ecosystems around professional sports which yield their own talent.
He pointed out that the African media also play a key role in helping their national teams, and in this aspect, FAM should learn to accept criticism instead of shunning the Malaysian media.
"Malaysian media can play a big role in football development, just like how the media do it in Africa. Their reporters help their nations in grassroots development, the advancement of the national team, and they even call out corruptions (like in Nigeria and Ghana).
"FAM needs to learn to take it as constructive criticism from the media or even sports observers because this will help them to improve national football," said Faithal.