PETALING JAYA, Sept 13 — Newly-minted Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer (CEO) Giorgio Pompili Rossi has dashed the hopes of fans hoping for a quick revival of the second-tier Premier League competition.

The 34-year-old Italian, whose four-year contract as the CEO of the MFL came into effect earlier this month, said this was because it would take some time to examine everything thoroughly to decide whether the Second Division competition (Premier League) could be reinstated.

“Regarding (the idea of reinstating) the Second Division competition (Premier League) for next season, I think we are already running out of time.

“However, we (MFL) are not closing the door entirely by saying yes or no to bringing back the Premier League. We need to conduct a thorough investigation before making any changes,” he said after a meet-and-greet session here today.

The Premier League was last held in 2022, with Johor Darul Ta’zim II emerging as champions.

The MFL then replaced the Premier League with the MFL Cup as part of their initiatives to strengthen the development of the Under-23 players.

However, this move has yet to yield positive results for the national Under-23 squad, with most teams preferring to field foreign or senior players instead.

Meanwhile, Rossi said he accepted the CEO post because he loved taking on new challenges, especially the salary and financial issues plaguing the local football industry.

“When I received the call from MFL, it was interesting for me to hear this opportunity available and I liked to have that challenge.

“My first thought was to see (what is) the right thing to do... It’s a challenge for everyone. I’m aware of the salary and financial problems but I strongly believe that things need to be looked at and analysed properly.

“There’s a Financial Fair Play (FFP) module in play and we need to understand exactly how we can improve fast... but it’s not going to be something that will happen tomorrow morning (in short period),” he said.

Rossi replaces Datuk Stuart Ramalingam, whose contract with the Malaysian League’s (M-League) governing body ended on Aug 31. — Bernama