PBBM Wants All Football Associations To Focus On Grassroots Development

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Malay’s Football Association (PBMM) is urging football associations across the country to return their focus to the serious agenda of grassroots player development.

Its President, Mohd Firdaus Mohamed said that the current heavy reliance on state sports schools and the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) is concerning, as it may hinder the effort to discover new talent on a broader scale.

He emphasised that, fundamentally, the responsibility of scouting talent should have been shouldered by football associations for a long time, rather than solely depending on the existing ecosystem.

"We cannot establish a premise that to represent the country, a player must only come from a state sports school or the NFDP. 

"Instead, we need to go out and engage with primary and secondary schools. This is what we must do now - 'digging' as deep as possible to ensure these talents are found," he said after officiating the Launch of PBMM’s Participation in the 2026 NFDP National Youth League here today.

Mohd Firdaus, who is also a former Vice President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), did not deny the positive impact contributed by sports schools and the NFDP, but believes the medium for talent scouting should not be limited to those channels alone.

"The existence of these sports schools is indeed good and provides added value, but our main focus is finding talent. Sometimes, great talent isn't necessarily born in existing sports schools or academies, but might be hidden at the daily school level," he said.

In the same vein, Mohd Firdaus expressed disappointment toward a handful of football associations alleged to be taking development lightly, thereby failing their primary function of producing new talent.

"There may be some associations doing their job, but there are also those who aren't. As such, we have to start from the bottom again to ensure the continuity of this talent.

"I also praise the efforts of organising specific cups (tournaments) introduced this year to unearth talent. We hope all parties can unite to ensure what is planned yields results," he added.

Earlier, PBMM sent their "young talent" (youth players) for the Under-12 (U-12), U-15, and U-16 categories to participate in the NFDP National Youth League for the first time.

--BERNAMA