National body to introduce new format for FAM League

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will introduce a new format for the FAM League next season in a bid to raise the quality of the competition.

FAM deputy president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said they were considering several factors before making a final decision on the teams taking part in next season’s FAM League.

“We will announce the new format in a short time but what is confirmed is that it will be more interesting and will involve more teams,” he told a press conference after attending the 6th FAM Executive Council meeting for the 2017-2021 session chaired by president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin in Seri Kembangan near here today.

Meanwhile, FAM secretary-general Stuart Michael Ramalingam revealed that they had been holding talks with the Malaysia Football League (MFL) in the last few months to restructure the M-League to make it more competitive.

“The issue regarding the low number of teams participating in the FAM League has slowed down our discussions with MFL because we feel that the football pyramid should be more holistic and we need to look at it in detail.

“So far, five teams have responded to us for the FAM League, but it’s not the numbers that matter, it’s the quality and stability of the teams that’s important,” he said.

Last season, 14 teams took part in the FAM League.

Stuart also announced that FAM would launch the 2019 Futsal Professional League soon, saying the exco members fully supported competition.

“The format and launch date of the futsal league will be announced in a month and we hope it will give a positive impact to the national futsal team and the futsal industry in the country, which looks ready to be developed to a professional level,” he added.

-- BERNAMA