Izham Ismail, CEO, Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia

13-Mar-19 12:16

Football teams owing wages to players is not a new in Malaysia. Over the decades, such troubles continue to haunt the M-League, leaving the players at the mercy of the officials. Some of the footballers are forced to ditch their boots to become fishermen, farmers and even sell fruits to make ends meet. It's reported that in 2018, eight football teams have not settled almost RM8.32million in unpaid wages to their players and coaching staff.

The latest M-League team to pull a similar stunt is Perlis FA. The Northern Lions, with its new administrators, promised to roar prior the kick off of the 2019 season only to be silenced by its ineffectiveness in managing finances, forcing several players to quit the team. The Malaysian Football League recently decided to ban Perlis from the Premier League and its appeal has also been thrown out of the window. Nevertheless, once again the players and coaching staff are victimised. Professional Footballers' Association of Malaysia (PFAM) chief executive officer Izham Ismail join us this week as we discuss how best to tackle this on-going off pitch drama.

Further reading - TIME FOR MALAYSIAN FOOTBALL TO UNSHACKLE POLITICAL CHAINS

Produced by: Daryl Ong, Haresh Deol