KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s football woes deepened as Harimau Malaya plummeted 14 places to 135th in the FIFA world rankings, prompting Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari to call for urgent reforms and accountability within the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
The team’s decline follows the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruling that Malaysia fielded ineligible players during last year’s Asian Cup qualifiers, resulting in the forfeiture of a 2-0 win over Nepal and a 4-0 victory against Vietnam.
This setback adds to last year’s controversies, when FIFA nullified three international matches and recorded them as 3-0 defeats after Malaysia was found to have used forged documents to naturalise seven foreign-born players. These matches included a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde, a 2-1 win over Singapore, and a 1-0 victory over Palestine, causing Malaysia to fall from 116th to 121st in the rankings at the time.
Taufiq acknowledged the frustration among Malaysians, particularly football supporters, over the team’s ranking drop and recent controversies.
“I share the disappointment of Malaysians, especially football supporters, regarding this drop in ranking and the issues that have affected the national squad over the past few months,” he said in a statement today.
He urged stakeholders to learn from these incidents and to strengthen Malaysian football.
“All parties must take lessons from this matter. Efforts to strengthen our national football must be intensified, and I hope appropriate measures will be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur,” he added.
Taufiq emphasised the importance of long-term development, especially at grassroots level, while calling on Malaysians to continue supporting the sport.
“Football development, especially at grassroots level, must continue, and I urge all Malaysians to keep supporting the sport,” he said.
He also stressed that the Youth and Sports Ministry would not interfere in FAM’s administration, with the National Sports Council continuing to prioritise football development through the National Football Development Programme, with FAM as a strategic partner.
At the same time, Taufiq called for patience, encouraging all parties to give FAM — with support from the AFC — the space to implement internal reforms, including the possibility of holding a congress to elect new leadership. – March 24, 2026