KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — The Malaysian Football League (MFL) will no longer be lenient with any team, including Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC and Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC, by allowing them to continue competing in the Super League despite having financial problems.
MFL president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said they take a serious view of clubs’ salary arrears and have even expelled several teams due to such issues.
“Many teams have been omitted (not eligible to compete). Sarawak (United FC) and Kelantan FC have been expelled to ensure this league remains competitive and respected.
“FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin mentioned that FIFA (the world governing body) are watching our league regarding the issue of unpaid salaries.
“The MFL will take certain measures to ensure this (salary issue) does not worsen. The MFL will also assist teams to make sure this does not happen or can be resolved immediately,” he said when met at the MFL-Media buka puasa function in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
The MFL, through a statement yesterday, said that KL City FC and KDA FC have been given space to resolve their salary arrears due to the high commitment of both clubs to do so, after they failed to pay 50 per cent of the total salary arrears for 2023 on the first date on March 15.
Further action will be taken if they fail to settle the arrears on the second final deadline of March 30, which is the deduction of three points for the 2024-2025 Super League season and a fine of RM50,000 according to Article 2.4© Licensing Sanctions of the MFL Club Licensing Regulations 2023 Edition.
The clubs’ licence status will also be evaluated if they do not comply with the second final deadline for the payment of the salary arrears and do not have strong financial backing to continue competing in the next M-League season.
Ab Ghani said that in a bid to prevent such financial issues from recurring, the MFL would implement the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules starting this season.
The FFP regulations are a set of rules established to prevent professional football clubs from spending more than they earn so that they do not get into financial problems that might threaten their long-term survival.
“Their sustainability in the league is more important than trying to compete against bigger teams (by spending more than they can afford). We will launch our version of the FFP this season.
“Previously, we had the ECP (Economic Control Programme), which was fully designed based on an overseas model and not suitable (for us). So, the FFP this time, as proposed by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, will see the MFL implementing it based on our version,” said Ab Ghani.
The 2024-2025 Super League season kicking off in May will have only 13 teams compared to 14 the previous season after bottom club Kelantan FC failed to comply with the stipulated competition rules due to their financial issues. — Bernama
