KUALA LUMPUR – The time is ripe for women footballers in the country to have proper professional contracts to foster sustainable careers and nurture talent for the national team, according to national women’s head coach Soleen Al-Zoubi.
This is to encourage more women to have a sustainable career in football, which would lead to having more talents eligible for the national team.
However, Soleen identified financial struggles as a significant challenge, primarily stemming from a lack of sponsorship support.
“It’s important to have a professional contract for the girls and to have retirement plans.
“It’s the challenge that we are facing now, not because the clubs are not doing anything to achieve it but because I think it’s a financial struggle.
“Women’s football does not have that much financial support because we lack sponsors, but if we have a good product and good results for the national team and national league, we could attract more sponsors,” she said when met at the recent Women’s Football Forum organised by the Professional Football Association of Malaysia (PFAM).
Soleen’s comment comes after PFAM chief executive Izham Ismail highlighted the need for increased investment in women’s football.
She pinpointed the critical issue of professional contracts for women players to encourage more of them to participate in football as a career, ultimately expanding the women’s league, which is a linchpin for the development of women’s football in the long term.
“I believe that the women’s league is the core of developing women’s football.
“It is the most important thing to encourage more players to play in leagues and join a football club.
“If we keep investing in women’s football then we will attract more financial support, then we can implement the professional contract, club licensing and all the other criteria that we need to meet,” she added.
Currently, Malaysia only has six teams in the Women’s National League, comprising Kelana United FC, LMS Tigress FC, Malaysian University, Sabah, Selangor FC, and SSM Pahang.
Sabah won the title on November 4 after topping the league table at 16 points, with a 13-goal advantage. – December 6, 2023