KUALA LUMPUR – English Premier League (EPL) side Tottenham Hotspur will soon open its doors to Malaysian talents from the B40 community by providing development programmes aimed at nurturing future football stars.
Working alongside Football Talent Asia (FTA) and MyCoachingHub, Tottenham will be part of an initiative called NextGen Harimau, which aims to become a premier pathway for Malaysian footballers, exporting the nation’s most promising young players to top-tier training and competitive opportunities in Europe.
Speaking to Scoop, S. Visnu Nair — the brainchild behind FTA and MyCoachingHub — said he hopes for the NextGen Harimau programme to serve as an alternative platform to assist the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in unearthing new superstars.
Visnu, who also runs the Villarreal Malaysia Academy, revealed that the NextGen Harimau programme will initially be launched in the Klang Valley, Kedah, Melaka, Kelantan, and Sabah.
“We are targeting players aged between 13 and 15, as we hope to help them break into the national Under-17 squad by 2027,” said Visnu, who is the managing director of MyCoachingHub — an online sports platform that provides a wealth of resources and solutions for coaching education.
“I’m keen to expand talent identification beyond the Klang Valley and have pledged to bring the programme to other states across the country, especially those with talents from the B40 community.
“My immediate goal is to identify at least six talented players to train with Tottenham, though the ultimate dream would be to send a full squad to London.
“I believe it is possible to send an entire squad to Tottenham eventually. For now, however, we aim to send at least six players, and Tottenham has been very supportive, offering to further mould them through their renowned development programmes.
“I will soon be pitching this plan to FAM, and it would be fantastic if they could come on board and support this initiative,” added Visnu, the son of former national head coach B. Satianathan.
At the same time, Visnu — a former goalkeeper who played for Petaling Jaya Rangers, Selangor, Felcra, and MOF FC — noted that there is a lack of scouting infrastructure beyond the state and club systems in Malaysia, and he hopes that the NextGen Harimau initiative can address this shortfall.
He expects the programme to attract between 300 and 400 participants initially.
“We are looking at attracting at least 300 to 400 participants, and hopefully, we will see those numbers grow in the years to come. Thanks to the support of our corporate partners, we have been able to increase the number of scouts within our system.
“With more scouts on board, I am confident that even more talents will benefit from our programme in the near future,” Visnu added.
For the record, Visnu, who established the Villarreal Malaysia Academy four years ago, has been providing scholarships to 40 players from the B40 community at his centres in Klang and Kota Kemuning on a yearly basis.
The former goalkeeper holds an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ‘B’ coaching licence and a football diploma from the University of Barcelona.
The NextGen Harimau programme is expected to kick off in July this year. – May 1, 2025