PETALING JAYA: A quality audit conducted by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has identified a number of governance, accountability and institutional challenges within the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
The findings were presented during the FAM Extraordinary Congress (EGM) here today through the AFC’s Capability Maturity Assessment.
A presentation by AFC Deputy Secretary-General Vahid Kardany showed that most of FAM’s operational areas were assessed at Level 2 (Pre-Intermediate), indicating that improvements are required across various aspects of the organisation.
The assessment covered 11 focus areas, including governance and legal affairs, administration, finance, human resources, infrastructure, communications, marketing, commercial development, advocacy, competitions and performance development.
Among the scores recorded were 1.3 for Governance and Legal; Administration, Logistics and Information Technology (1.6); Finance, Business Information and Risk (1.2) and 1.4 each for People and Culture as well as Infrastructure and Facilities.
Communications and Media was the only department to achieve a score of 2.0, placing it at Level 3 (Intermediate).
The presentation stated that governance structures existed but were not formally approved or enforced, while authority was said to be concentrated at the top of the organisation, bypassing formal reporting lines and mandates.
It also highlighted concerns that critical functions were built around individuals rather than institutional systems, creating key-person dependency risks across departments.
Other issues identified included the absence of annual business plans, activity calendars and performance reports, unapproved policies, a lack of key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance measurement frameworks, as well as limited succession planning.
The audit further noted that institutional knowledge was concentrated among a small number of individuals and suggested that a fear-based culture may discourage staff from escalating concerns before they become critical.
The FAM EGM today chaired by AFC Secretary-General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John was attended by FAM Honorary President Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, FAM Secretary-General Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, 35 delegates representing all 18 affiliates, as well as representatives from FIFA and the AFC, and observers.
In January, all FAM Exco members for the 2025-2029 term announced a mass resignation on a collective and voluntary basis.
The decision was made unanimously, taking into account organisational responsibility without personal interest or position, and was seen as a prudent and principled step following the current situation that has drawn public attention regarding the legacy player issue, as well as to safeguard the integrity of FAM. – BERNAMA
