PETALING JAYA — Newly elected Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan has pledged to convene an extraordinary congress within 14 days as his administration moves to restore confidence in the national football governing body and address issues raised in previous FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) audits.
Ab Ghani said the new leadership had a major responsibility to tackle the challenges facing FAM, with work beginning immediately following his election.
“For me, it is a major responsibility for me and my other colleagues to face after this. That means starting from today,” he told reporters at a press conference following FAM’s extraordinary congress and executive committee election at the Hilton Hotel here today.
He identified restoring confidence among football officials, supporters and Malaysians as an immediate priority following what he described as a “crisis of confidence”.
“Firstly, there has been a crisis of confidence, so we have to overcome that and restore the confidence of all the officials, as well as all football supporters and Malaysians in particular, God willing,” he said.
Ab Ghani also pledged to review findings from previous FIFA and AFC audits, with FAM set to assess progress and corrective measures on a monthly basis.
“First and foremost, on the problems raised during the previous FIFA and AFC audit. That is why they will look at it month by month, the progress and what action has been taken by FAM itself,” he said.
He stressed that addressing the audit findings must be accompanied by tangible improvements to rebuild supporters’ confidence in the national football setup.
“We will resolve that. At the same time, we need to make improvements and correct things, or achieve something good, and convince the supporters of our national team,” he said.
Two-and-a-half-year challenge
Ab Ghani said the new administration had two and a half years to address the challenges facing Malaysian football, with efforts focusing on strengthening FAM’s administration and improving the national team’s performance.
“I consider this team to be a team that I feel is suitable for us to improve what we discussed earlier, namely the challenges that our team has to face over the next two and a half years, so that we can correct and improve FAM’s administration as well as the performance of the national team,” he said.
On FAM’s strategic direction, Ab Ghani said the administration would continue working with the existing F:30 blueprint while making adjustments where necessary.
“The activities are based on the blueprint that was prepared earlier. The blueprint is already there, the indicators are already there,” he said.
The extraordinary congress will provide the new administration with an early opportunity to outline its priorities and begin implementing its plans following the leadership transition.
Meanwhile, the monthly review of FIFA and AFC audit findings is expected to help FAM monitor progress and corrective action taken in response to issues identified by the two governing bodies.
Ab Ghani’s election marks the beginning of a new administration at FAM for the 2025–2029 term.
He defeated his sole challenger, Selangor Football Association (FAS) deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar, by 20 votes to five during the extraordinary congress and executive committee election.
The new leadership now faces the task of translating its commitments into concrete improvements, with restoring confidence, strengthening administration and improving the national team among its key priorities. — September 17, 2026