KUALA LUMPUR: Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin believes corporate leaders with restructuring experience, including AirAsia founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, are needed to rebuild the FA of Malaysia (FAM).
Megat believes the expertise of corporate figures could restore confidence in FAM following recent governance and legal challenges.
"I think the combination of Fernandes' portfolio and the fact that he has also been involved in sports in the United Kingdom would be a great thing," he said.
"I would love to work with people based on merit."
His comments followed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision to uphold FIFA punishments against seven players for using invalid documents during the naturalisation process to represent Harimau Malaya.
CAS upheld 12-month suspensions against Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero, and Facundo Garces.
The FAM was also fined CHF350,000.
Megat believes individuals from the corporate sector are best equipped to handle the sport's structural and financial hurdles.
"We do this on a daily basis. We buy companies, we sell companies, we shrink companies and manage receiverships. So we know how to deal with debts and restructuring," he said.
He added that an ongoing governance review of the FAM involving the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) presents an opportunity to overhaul the administration.
"To be frank, I think this is the right time for us to come in," he said.
However, Megat stressed that reform must respect the authority of state football associations (FAs).
"The most important thing is to gain the trust of the FAs. We are not taking their rights, we are working with them," he said, noting he has already engaged several state FAs to discuss rebuilding the sport.
"The task is big, but Malaysian fans deserve better, and we must rebuild the country's reputation," he added.
On Sunday, Timesport reported that Fernandes is prepared to take on the FAM presidency following the mass resignation of the national body's leadership in January. - NST
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.