KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has been singled out as one of the more unusual cases in Asean football governance after it emerged that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) does not include a single club representative among its affiliated members.
Highlighting the structure during FAM’s extraordinary congress, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) deputy secretary general Vahid Kardany drew a direct comparison with Sri Lanka, noting that both associations stand apart from the broader regional trend.
“Malaysia, much like Sri Lanka, remains among the very few associations in Asia where no football club is directly represented within the membership structure,” Kardany said during his presentation.
“In most Asean countries, clubs are already embedded within the governance framework, playing an active role in shaping football development and decision-making.”
He added that the absence of club representation places Malaysia in a rare category within the region, where football governance continues to be driven entirely by state or regional associations rather than professional club entities.
Based on data presented by AFC, FAM currently has 14 affiliated members, all of which are state football associations.
No clubs are represented within its membership structure, unlike most neighbouring countries where clubs are formally included as part of the decision-making ecosystem.
For comparison, Indonesia has 43 club affiliates under the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), while Thailand has 69 clubs and Singapore has 31. Vietnam records 39 club affiliates, Myanmar 31, and the Philippines 12.
This structure places FAM among a small group of associations in the region that continue to rely entirely on state football associations as the core of their membership base.
Overall, FAM has 20 affiliated members in total, which is significantly lower than Thailand with 70, Vietnam with 61, and Indonesia with 82, further highlighting the structural gap between Malaysia and several of its Asean counterparts. – June 4, 2026