KUALA LUMPUR – The new Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) leadership will seek answers from the Home Ministry (KDN) over the citizenship and passport process involving seven heritage players whose documentation has come under scrutiny from FIFA.
FAM president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said he would meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to obtain a clearer picture of how the players obtained Malaysian citizenship and passports.
He said the matter needed clarification from KDN as issues involving citizenship and the issuance of Malaysian passports fell outside FAM’s jurisdiction.
“Regarding the passport status of the seven heritage players, I will have a meeting with Saifuddin,” he told reporters after the sixth FAM executive committee meeting for the 2025-2029 term at Wisma FAM today.
Ab Ghani said FAM wanted to establish the facts surrounding the players’ status before deciding on its next course of action.
He added that FAM would work closely with KDN to understand the process and find the best possible solution to the issue.
“Matters involving citizenship and the issuance of passports are outside FAM’s jurisdiction. So, we will seek clarification and work closely with KDN to find the best solution,” he said.
The move follows FIFA’s action against the seven players over documentation used to establish their eligibility to represent Malaysia.
FIFA found that documents submitted in relation to the players’ claimed ancestry did not meet the eligibility requirements for them to represent the national team.
The seven players are Facundo Garces, Gabriel Palmero, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
The controversy has raised questions over the process through which the players were granted Malaysian citizenship and subsequently obtained passports, as well as how their eligibility to represent the national team was established.
Ab Ghani said FAM’s engagement with KDN was aimed at getting a complete picture of the matter, including developments that took place before he assumed the presidency.
The issue is among the major challenges confronting the new FAM leadership, with the association now seeking clarification on matters that extend beyond football administration and into citizenship and passport procedures.
Earlier, Saifuddin said the citizenship process involving the players had been carried out in accordance with the Federal Constitution and existing laws. – September 30, 2026