THERE are not enough platforms for young Malaysian footballers to showcase their talents to represent the country at the international level, Football Association of Malaysia technical director Scott O’Donell said.
He said the lack of football leagues and competitions for players below the age of 17 prevents them from honing their skills and talents.
O’Donell said this makes it impossible for the national footballing body to identify talents to represent the country in the international arena at the youth level.
“There is no competition (to gauge their talents). So where do we find our players? I even asked this question to our Under-17 coach Javi,” he said, referrng to Javier Jorda Ribera.
“If we are going to identify talents, then they have to be playing consistently for us to assess and make sure we’re selecting the right group of players.
“We can’t assess or judge a player’s talent based on one or two games. They have to perform consistently or near consistently.
“So, if we have leagues where they are playing every week, and if our coaches or scouts can be up there, we can have a comprehensive report on the player,” O’Donell told The Malaysian Insight in an interview.
At present, young players below the age of 18 participate in the Ministry of Education (KPM) league, Youth Cup, Suparimau League, and also Belia Cup.
The FIFA decision to hold the Under-17 World Cup annually instead of biennially presents young Malaysian footballers with a golden opportunity to represent the country at one of the sport’s biggest stages, said O’Donell.
Nine slots are allocated for countries under the Asian Football Confederation, for which the Malaysian Under-17 team could qualify through the Under-17 Asian Cup by being one of the top nine teams in the competition.
For the immediate event, the qualifiers for the Under-17 Asian Cup will be held in October this year, where the 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams among all groups will advance to the finals, with Saudi Arabia scheduled to host the tournament between April 3-20, 2025.
The date for the Under-17 World Cup is yet to be fixed, but it will be held in Qatar for the next five years.
O’Donell said younger players need to play more games to develop their skills to be more competitive.
With players aged 17 and below eligible to partake in the Under-17 World Cup tournament, O’Donnell, who also had stints in Singapore, India, and Cambodia, proposed to have nationwide Under-15 and Under-16 leagues.
He said the FAM president Hamidin Mohd Amin was fully supportive of this proposal.
“As the qualifiers to get to the Asian Cup are when the kids are 16-years-old, we have to identify players for that and at the same time get them ready for the following year’s cycle if they qualify for the Under-17 World Cup.
“If we are serious about wanting to get into the Under-17 World Cup, we need to have more competition. As FIFA said, competition drives development.
“So, we have to put some systems and structures in place where we can give our boys the best possible opportunity of reaching their potential,” the well-travelled Australian said.
Playing less
O’Donell said that based on the European Academy Association, youth players in Europe will play an average of 40 to 50 competitive games a year, in contrast to Malaysia’s Under-18 team, which plays almost three times less.
The Australian said the Under-18 national team will play a total of 16 games this year.
O’Donell understands that it would be impossible to have a proper Under-15 and 16 competition for the first few years.
However, the Australian is optimistic it can be done in time to come.
“I completely get it, that in the first couple of years we can’t have a proper Under-15 and 16, both home and away fixtures, because it is a big country getting around.
“But if we start next year, we can allocate groups within their regions. For example, north, south, east and west, and get professional clubs, sports schools, and Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD) (to participate).
“We can play games in the region and the top two teams in each region could probably compete in the finals or whatever the format is.
“We just want to play more games and in this case, playing competitive games because at this level, the only competitive games the boys play is the KPM league (the Education Ministry League) which is the Under-17 league.
“It is too late to identify talent for the Under-16 qualifiers, which will get us into the Under-17 Asian Cup and the Under-17 World Cup,” he said.
Although there is a lack of competition now to spot potential talents, O’Donnell said that FAM, as the national football body, has never stopped scouting for local talents.
He said that they are monitoring everywhere, including local and private football academies, but urged them to take part in the Suparimau competition, a grassroots league for those aged six to 16.
He said this is where FAM works closely with the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and AMD.
“It is important for the parents, players and coaches to know that just because they are not part of a super league club or a big academy, it does not mean that we are not trying to find them.
“We never stopped looking for talents. We are always searching. We are working closely with coaches, NFDP and AMD, to find out if there are any players there,” he said.
O’Donell also said that they are also closely monitoring the KPM League as well as sports schools.
“This is where NFDP works with the state FAs and also the sports schools. If we identify players, we want to have a look at the talent, see where his level is, how he can fit into the team, etc.
“So AMD is also working closely with NFDP to see if there are any talents and hence they can be given training and have them assessed,” he said.
Getting to the U17 World Cup
On the chances of Malaysia qualifying for the Under-17 World Cup, O’Donnell stressed on the importance of setting up youth leagues, specifically for the Under-15 and 16.
“If we don’t start implementing the youth leagues, then our chances of getting to the Under-17 World Cup are not high.
“But we would be giving ourselves a much better chance if we start implementing these competitions now.
“How good will it be to represent your country on a world stage?
“I’m not saying it is going to happen in the next five years but we have got to give ourselves every chance for that to happen,” he said.
O’Donell said that it takes the collective effort of all stakeholders in making the chances of Malaysia qualifying and participating on a world stage a reality.
“The National Sports Council is obviously very important to NFDP and AMD.
“They have been very supportive of what we’re doing.
“And we are going to get the states, clubs, and everyone on board – all pushing and aiming for the same thing – which is to qualify for the Under-17 World Cup.” – July 14, 2024.
