M’sia ‘boleh’ but cannot win an Asian sports award?
(fz.com) – The sad truth is nobody will answer this question as it appears that the Malaysian football fraternity does not care anymore.
IT WAS almost like at the Grammys for me, tucked into a suit at the 2013 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Annual Awards at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
Having been in the sports-journalism industry for seven years, this was a milestone in this writer’s career as it was my first time and I was even 10 minutes early for the grand event.
Ushered into the Grand Ballroom upon my arrival, this writer took a seat at the media and took in the scene. While some nominees were spotted anxious, others carried confidence.
As the event kicked off, our hosts of the evening Paul Masefield and Colette Wong began announcing the nominees for the respective categories.
This was when my spirit dropped. There didn’t seem to be any Malaysian names announced in the football players, coaches or assistant referees save for Rita Ghani who was nominated for AFC Referee of the Year in the Women’s category.
Unfortunately, Japan’s Asako Takemoto bagged the award.
While the country should be proud that Rita was recognised for her efforts in the sports industry, a pertinent question arises: What has happened to the others?
Malaysia was once Asia’s power house but it’s a sorry state when we are no more recognised in our own continent. That is something to be ashamed of.
Our neighbours Thailand won two awards – the AFC Futsal Team of the Year and the AFC Futsal Player of the Year.
And to make things worse, even uprising country Myanmar won the AFC Dream Asia Award for their FA’s contribution in social responsibility.
How can this happen?
Have we deteriorated so badly in football, that it impossible to come back to where we were some 30-years ago?
Who can answer this question?
The sad truth is nobody will answer this question as it appears that the Malaysian football fraternity does not care anymore.
All they want to do is to earn big bucks from the sport and get out. No one cares about grassroots and the development of football in this country.
I love football and more importantly, I love my country. It is very sad to be a host of a prestigious event and not have more than one representative nominated for any categories.
This can only happen in Malaysia and I welcome you to the “Boleh-Land”.
