KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) recently made key personnel appointments with the help of a RM30 million government allocation for the national football programme.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh today confirmed that RM10 million of the allocation will be funded by the government, while the remaining RM20 million will be financed by the private sector.

“The current ranking of the Malaysian national football team is 132. In Budget 2025, the government announced an allocation of RM15 million for the development of football, specifically for the Harimau Malaya team and the national under-23 squad. Of this amount, RM10 million will be funded by the government, while RM5 million will be financed by the private sector.

“On 12 January 2025, the government announced an additional allocation of RM15 million, bringing the total funding to RM30 million. This additional RM15 million will also be financed by the private sector,” she said in a written parliamentary reply.

She was responding to a question from Kangar MP Zakri Hassan who asked for clarification on the government’s efforts to improve Malaysia’s FIFA ranking.

Yeoh explained that the additional funds aim to improve the performance of the Harimau Malaya team and under-23 squad, ensuring a structured and competitive preparation process.

“With this additional funding, FAM has been able to implement organisational management changes by appointing top experts and coaching professionals,” Yeoh said.

FAM has appointed Rob Friend as CEO, Peter Cklamovski as head coach of Harimau Malaya, Nafuzi Zain as head coach of the National Under-23 team, and Dr Craig Duncan as head of high performance and sports medicine.

Yeoh emphasised that the National Sports Council, through a Monitoring Committee, will conduct periodic assessments to ensure the funds are utilised effectively.

“This measure is intended to ensure that the allocation is utilised according to its intended purpose and optimised to deliver a positive impact,” she said.