By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif
KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Football League (MFL) seems ready to restructure the Malaysia League (M-League) which will see 18 teams competing in the Super League and the temporary suspension of the Premier League beginning in the 2023 season.
As part of the restructuring, the M-League administrators will also introduce the Reserve League for Under-23 (U-23) squads from all the 18 Super League 2023 teams.
The MFL is expected to submit the proposed restructuring at the Third Extraordinary League Partners Meeting scheduled to take place tomorrow with all 21 partners - 12 Super League and nine Premier League teams - likely to vote on the proposal.
According to a well-placed source within the MFL, the restructuring is aimed at making the local league competition more competitive and providing more playing minutes to players.
“The restructuring is also partly due to a study by FIFA, the football world governing body, showing that Malaysian footballers lacked competitive match time at the domestic level,” the source told Bernama here.
“So imagine, our main national strikers currently only play less than 30 matches a year, including league matches, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup fixtures. That will be less if he’s injured or not fielded,” the source added.
Bernama had reported in early January that FIFA recommended to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) that the Super League and Premier League competition be extended to provide an ideal total of matches to players based on a FIFA study.
FIFA had suggested at that time that there be three rounds of league competition, with every team playing each other three times compared to two in the current competition format.
Currently, 12 teams compete in the Super League and 10 are in the Premier League, for a total of 22 matches for Super League teams and 18 matches for Premier League teams a season.
Teams in several top tier leagues in the world, including the English Premier League (EPL), LaLiga (Spain) and Serie A (Italy), play 38 matches per season while teams in the Bundesliga (German) play 36 matches a season.
Meanwhile, in South East Asia, teams in Indonesia play 34 matches, while in Thailand, they play 30 matches and for Vietnam, teams play 26 matches per season.
The source said the Super League restructuring will see each team playing 34 matches a season and might even play over 40 matches if they manage to go far in FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup.
From a commercial point of view, more matches meant more live telecasts that will not only attract more sponsors for MFL but also for teams, a development that will benefit them financially, the source added.
“This will also provide opportunities to smaller teams playing against elite teams and will attract more fans to stadiums to see great players in action, which is something that will be very exciting,” the source said.
The Reserve League that will be introduced should not be viewed as a place to develop players but a preparation stage for them to play in the Super League, the source said, adding that import players will be allowed in the league.
-- BERNAMA
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