KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- Newly appointed National Football Development Programme (NFDP) technical director Datuk Ong Kim Swee has set a mission to develop grassroots football in the country by focusing on efforts to close the performance gap with Southeast Asian teams before turning attention to competition at the Asian and world levels.
Kim Swee said the aspiration could only be achieved if it was addressed systematically through short-, medium- and long-term target planning.
“The short-term target is to ensure that we are on the right track, especially by not allowing the gap with Southeast Asian teams to become too wide.
“Within one to three years, we also want to qualify for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup, and subsequently, our main goal is to qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the future,” he said in a video shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today.
The technical aspects of football development at NFDP have now been taken over by FAM, with a total of 198 trainees aged between 13 and 17 having begun the 2026 session with their first training session at the Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (AMD) in Gambang, Pahang, yesterday.
Meanwhile, Kim Swee stressed the role of coaches as the most critical element in ensuring the development of young players was carried out holistically and in phases, without pressure for immediate results, to safeguard the players’ long-term potential.
He said he believed the extensive experience of the existing coaching line-up could provide significant added value to the direction of the NFDP, particularly in shaping teenage players who were better prepared both technically and mentally.
“And this process will certainly take some time, and with the presence of experienced coaches, it will definitely provide a different impact for me.
“Because they have previously been with our youth teams and some have quite strong track records, and I hope they will continue their struggle,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
