Should 'Harimau Muda 2.0' exist?

By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 -- Recently, there has been talk of a team comprising young national players, akin to the 2007 Harimau Muda programme, that would compete in the 2021 season of the Malaysian League (M-League).

This certainly raises some questions as the decision taken by the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) to end the Harimau Muda programme in 2015 was to return the responsibility of developing young footballing talent to the clubs.

There is speculation that the ‘Harimau Muda 2.0’ team would feature second-generation Mokhtar Dahari Academy (MDA) graduates who failed to secure contracts with domestic or international clubs. 

So far, 12 - and notably the best - of the 40 players in the batch have signed two- to three-year contracts with Super League teams Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor.

It is understood that the Harimau Muda squad would require costs of about around RM3 million a year.

The economic downturn following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the country’s football industry, and in the writer’s opinion, such a sum could be better used to send or promote the MDA graduates overseas.

At the same time, there are questions on whether there is a need for such a team in the M-League, as, after all, around 10 to 14 players from the first generation of MDA graduates managed to feature for Super League and Premier League teams last season

Let’s not forget how history was made when young national star Luqman Hakim Shamsudin became the first Malaysian player to play in a major European league after signing a five-year contract with Belgian side, KV Kortrijk.

If the real issue at hand is about the remaining players being unable to secure contracts, then questions should be asked on why were there no proposals for the players to be sent for trials at domestic league clubs prior to the start of the new season.

Meanwhile, with the privatisation of clubs having been implemented, the writer is of the view that the establishment of a 'Harimau Muda 2.0' team would prevent the development of young talent at the club level, and this could even hurt their potential professional careers.

Some local football fans may also view such a move as a step backward in efforts by various parties including the FAM, that are committed to bringing our country’s football to the next level.

The establishment of the Harimau Muda programme in 2007 could also have been justified at that time as the Youth Cup for U-19 players only began in 2008.

The Harimau Muda team competed in the Premier League, the Super League, the S-League (Singapore), the Slovakian First Division League and the Queensland League, which is one of the five main leagues in Australia.

Although the establishment of a new team is still at a discussion stage with no certain outcome, the writer feels it is vital that the matter be studied carefully by all football stakeholders in the country, including the teams competing in the M-League.

-- BERNAMA