Football: TV rights bonanza to spark Super League

MSL Sdn Bhd committee chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa unveils the new logo at Wisma FAM yesterday. — Picture by Osman Adnan

TEAMS are set to gain more in monetary incentives in this season's Super League which starts on Saturday.
Besides the annual grants, which will be disclosed at a later date, affiliates also stand a chance of earning incentives based on their rankings in the league and from broadcasting rights.

The teams will earn incentives if their matches are shown live on local channels.

In past seasons, every Super League team were given a RM300,000 grant but it could be more this season.
MSL Sdn Bhd committee chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the new proposal on incentives and grants will have to be endorsed by the finance committee before it can be implemented.

"We are still working on the formula for the incentive scheme and as soon as it is finalised, we will submit it to the finance committee. Our strategy is to make teams work for added incentives instead of giving them direct funding," said Annuar after unveiling the new MSL logo at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

"We are also finalising the scheme for the annual grants. There could be an increase.

"Our main goal here is to help teams make more money through enhanced marketing and promotional efforts for the next four years."

Annuar said his committee has also started brainstorming sessions to come up with ideas to revamp the M-League but they must correspond with Fifa's guidelines.

"I believe that in order to make our league attractive, we need to think global. And to achieve this, there must be a two-way relationship between FAM and its affiliates.

"My mission is for everyone to work hand-in-hand to make our league more attractive and exciting.

"We must set a new benchmark as only this way, can we see a positive change in our league," said Annuar, adding that FAM's door is always open to affiliates to give input to the M-League.

On football being part of the Road to London programme, Annuar said the association welcomes all efforts to help the national team's preparations for major events.

"We need to discuss with the Sports Ministry on the programme for our footballers," he said.

Meanwhile, former Perak coach M. Karathu has been appointed as Kelantan's head coach to replace B. Sathianathan, who has been suspended for six months by the FAM for speaking against the association's policies.

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ASEAN MULL FIFA WORLD CUP HOSTING IN 2030

BANGKOK (18 Jan 2011) – ASEAN foreign ministers have agreed to propose to the grouping’s leadership that the region host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 as a group, diplomatic sources say.
The foreign ministers, who are meeting in Lombok, Indonesia, would submit a formal and detailed plan for approval by the ASEAN leaders when they meet in Jakarta on 7-8 May 2010.

The idea of the region jointly hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2030 was first proposed by Malaysia at the annual foreign ministers’ meeting in Hanoi in July last year.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman volunteered to discuss the idea with his country’s sports authorities. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has endorsed the proposal.

During the recent ASEAN finance ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij also raised the idea, which was well received by his colleagues.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo proposed that Malaysia work with the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to come up with a concrete proposal to submit to the ASEAN leaders for their final approval.
Brazil will host the next World Cup in 2014, followed by Russia in 2018 and then Qatar in 2022. The 2026 and 2030 hosts have not yet been decided.

“This is an effort to use sport to create an ASEAN identity,” said a source to Bangkok Post. “This is a community-building effort. It will excite the youth (of the region). It will engage the people. It will inspire the imagination of ASEAN.”
Another source said: “ASEAN need an ASEAN identity. ASEAN coming together and competing as a bloc to host the FIFA World Cup will bring a tremendous sense of community and common identity.”
The ASEAN Secretariat will invite experts and football authorities from the region and elsewhere to help the group map out a strategy for the 2030 bid.

The application will likely face competition from other Asian countries such as China, who has stated its intention to bid for the right to host the world’s most watched sporting event in 2030.

By the time the international football association, FIFA decide on the 2030 World Cup host, all ASEAN capitals are expected to have built international standard sports and football stadiums, said one of the sources.
The details as to which capital will host which match are being worked out, the source said. They emphasised that the process was as important to ASEAN as the end result as, if endorsed by the ASEAN Summit in May, it would become a joint initiative among all member nations.


http://www.aseanfootball.org/

NO OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION YET ON BID

DILI (19 Jan 2011) – The Asean Football Federation (AFF) have not received any official notification from ASEAN with regards to the bid proposal for the 2030 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by nations in the Southeast Asian region.

As a result the AFF, an organisation comprising 11 nations in Southeast Asia, are unable to comment on this matter. The AFF’s knowledge about the bid at this juncture is what has been reported in the media.
As an organisation that is committed to the development of the beautiful game in the region, AFF will offer all the support and assistance to the relevant bodies if and when it is required. A statement will be issued later when more information on the bid is made available to the AFF.
At a recent meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers, it was proposed that a joint bid is submitted to FIFA to host the 2030 World Cup. The proposal from the foreign ministers will be tabled at the next ASEAN meeting in May.

For the record, the AFF have continuously done everything within our ability to develop the game in the region, from hosting youth events and seminars to organising the highly successful AFF Suzuki Cup.


http://www.aseanfootball.org/

Football: FAM gets tough on stadiums

Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the deputy president of the FA Malaysia, pays a courtesy call on King Abdullah ll Ibn Al Hussein in Amman, Jordan last Sunday.

NINE stadiums to be used for this season's M-League have been red-carded by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for a variety of reasons and affected teams may now have to play their matches either in the evening or at an alternative venue.
Three venues - the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium (Kuala Terengganu), Sultan Mohd IV Stadium (Kota Baru) and Larkin Stadium (Johor Baru) -- have unplayable pitches and dim floodlights.

According to the FAM competition committee's inspection report, the surface of the fields at these stadiums have gaping holes and uneven patches.

FAM competition committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the concerned teams cannot play their matches in these stadiums.
"We have rejected these venues and have informed the concerned teams to do the necessary to rectify the problem.

"Teams cannot play good football in these stadiums. We have given them until Friday to deal with the problem," said Hamidin after chairing the competition committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

If these stadiums are not fixed soon, four teams -- Terengganu, T-Team, Kelantan (Super League) and Johor -- will have to start their season playing at an alternative venue.

"The affected teams who are scheduled to play their opening matches at home must inform us by Friday on whether their respective venues are playable. We will inspelct them before making a decision.

"If nothing is done then Terengganu, T-Team and Kelantan will have to look for alternative venues while Johor can schedule their home match at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang," said Hamidin.

Other venues - Perak Stadium (Ipoh), Likas Stadium (Kota Kinabalu), Selayang Stadium (Kuala Lumpur), JCorp Stadium (Pasir Gudang), MBPJ Stadium (Kelana Jaya) and Sarawak Stadium (Kuching) all have bad lighting.

Affected teams -- Perak, Johor FC, Sabah (Super League), Armed Forces, Pos Malaysia, Young Tigers 'B', PKNS, Sime Darby FC, Sarawak and MP Muar (Premier League) will be forced to play their home matches in the evening.

Premier League side Penang have requested to play all their matches in the evening.

According to the M-League guidelines, stadium floodlights must be set-up to at least 800 Lux for night matches.

FAM has been lenient over the years on quality of pitches and lighting but Hamidin, also a FAM vice president, has decided to get tough.

"The past is the past. As long I am competition committee chairman, I want the league to run smoothly. Matches cannot be played at stadiums which have not complied to FAM and Fifa requirements.

"We, however, acted lenient on the lighting specification as Fifa rules state that lighting must be set-up to at least 1,200 Lux," he said.

The competition committee has also rejected Astro's request to bring forward the season opener Charity Shield match between Selangor and Kelantan by a day to Jan 28.

"It was brought up during the meeting but we decided to reject the idea. Our dates have been fixed. We cannot reschedule matches to accommodate concerned parties," added Hamidin.

By Ajitpal Singh
ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my

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