KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) received around US$7.6 million (about RM35 million) through FIFA’s Forward Development Programme from 2016 to 2022.
According to the FIFA Forward Global report on development activities released by the world football governing body today, it amounts to 78.6% of the total entitlement of US$9.9 million for Malaysia.
The report stated that US$2.5 million was spent on administration and governance, while US$1.6 million was spent on infrastructure and US$1.3 million for competitions in the first two cycles of the programme between 2016 and 2022.
Women’s football initiatives received US$0.7 million, followed by unused/football operating expenses (US$0.7 million), capacity development (US$0.4 million), equipment and others (US$0.2 million), and national teams (US$0.2 million).
“The FAM entered into a partnership with the FIFA Forward Programme to ensure that the nation’s footballers had the best possible training facilities at the FAM headquarters (Wisma FAM).
“Over US$560,000 of FIFA Forward funds has been used to relay the grass pitches, upgrade the floodlighting and provide benches for players and officials.
“The work began in 2019 and was completed in time for the Malaysian boys’ U-15 team to test the new turf surface in July of that year, by which time the high-level lighting had also been completed,” the report read.
FIFA said it approved eight projects in Malaysia, with more than US$2.1 million spent.
According to the report, FIFA had set about US$2.8 billion for investment in its 211 member associations, as well as in the confederations and the various zonal and regional associations, to significantly bolster football development in the territories under the programme launched in May 2016.
The next cycle known as Forward 3.0 will begin in January 2024, with FIFA promising to provide up to US$8 million per four-year cycle. – December 22, 2023