Foul!

As published in Mailsport today. The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) suspended its president Datuk Zainal Abu Zarin during its annual general meeting last week. Zainal was suspended by the AGM as he was part of Paralimpik Ventures Sdn Bhd, from whom the council is trying to recover RM3.8 million allegedly lost in investments. Zainal is listed as the company's director alongside his two sons. Read more in the paper today. Also read Where is the money? , RM4million poser and Sports Commissioner clueless over MPC investment .

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have today confirmed the appointment of Dollah Salleh as the new head coach of the Malaysia national team. Fresh from leading Premier League side PDRM to top-flight promotion, the Malacca-born coach, who played for the national team between 1985 and 1996, was reportedly handed a two-year contract to replicate his local football success on the international scene. That was reported on June 28, 2014, as seen here . Bernama reported this today:      Meanwhile, Dollah said he had still not obtained any information from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) on his appointment as the new chief coach of Harimau Malaya.              He only got to know about the matter through several press reports today, and said the decision was made at the first FAM 2014-2018 exco meeting, chaired by FAM president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday. Am I missing something?

  pro·fes·sion·al·ism noun \prə- ˈ fesh-nə- ˌ li-zəm, - ˈ fe-shə-nə- ˌ li-\ : the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well   1) Lack of foresight in organising tournaments and matches 2) Lack of engagement, inability to understand the need of communicating with masses or third parties.  3) Internal / ego issues - clash of personalities 4) Poor delegation of work 5) Discipline - or rather lack of it 6) Inability to think ahead, injecting new and fresh ideas into future progress of sport. Many continue to harp on past glories and ideologies 7) Unable to appreciate sports industry, sports science 8) Branding, marketing and advertising remain foreign to sports bodies and organisations 9) Unable to work as a team, poor rapport among fellow colleagues 10)

PRESS RELEASE The world is currently abuzz with the football World Cup fever, but students from ten secondary schools have another reason to cheer.  Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad today officially launched its “Zurich Love for Football” program. The initiative, organised in collaboration with Little League Soccer Sdn. Bhd., led by former professional footballer and ESPN STARSPORTS pundit Paul Masefield, will run from June to September this year.                                                                                                         Zurich “Love for Football” is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project by Zurich Insurance Malaysia with an aim to promote health and wellness among youths through the popular sport of football. As part of this initiative, Zurich Insurance Malaysia will be hosting a series of football clinics across 10 secondary schools nationwide. They have also pledged to contribute RM5,000 to each of the selected sch

PERSEDIAAN ATLET MENJALANI LATIHAN KETIKA KUALITI UDARA TERJEJAS DAN FENOMENA EL NINO Keadaan jerebu yang semakin teruk di beberapa kawasan di Semenanjung Malaysia sejak beberapa hari ini, terutamanya di kawasan Lembah Klang yang menyaksikan peningkatan bacaan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) yang tidak sihat. Disamping itu, negara juga kini berhadapan dengan cuaca panas dan kering berikutan kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh Pertubuhan Meteorologi Dunia (WMO) pada 15 April 2014, fenomena El Nino berkemungkinan besar melanda dunia pada pertengahan tahun ini yang dijangka bermula antara Jun dan Ogos depan, namun demikian masih terlalu awal untuk menentukan tahap kekuatannya. Impak El Nino kepada negara secara umumnya boleh menyebabkan jumlah hujan diterima akan berkurangan, terutamanya bagi Sabah dan Sarawak. El Nino juga boleh menyebabkan cuaca menjadi lebih panas dan kering yang seterusnya memudahkan berlakunya kebakaran hutan yang boleh menyebabkan kejadian jerebu tebal meren

Ultras Tonjol FC, as published in Mailsport today   ALLOW me to first congratulate Police for winning the Premier League title.   Their 4-0 win over Negri Sembilan on Friday night was enough to give them a five-point lead against second-placed Felda United en route to earning a promotion to the Super League next season.   I would like to wish Selangor and Johor Darul Takzim all the best as they play their final matches of the season tomorrow. JDT lead Selangor by one point and will have the advantage as they seek their first league crown.   And now the on-going World Cup.   It has been an exciting start to the 2014 edition as most teams now brace for their challenge in the knockout stage.   Iran, dubbed as ‘Bas Ekspress Iran’ by some, managed a solid performance before they were handed a cruel blow by Lionel Messi, who gave Argentina a 1-0 win and three valuable points. Ghana gave three-time champions Germany a run for their money before Miroslav Klo

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today.   The Auditor-General’s (AG) Report never ceases to amaze me.   I remember writing Malay Mail’s frontpage article “NSC’s RM22 million bill raises eyebrows” published April 29, 2008, where the National Sports Council (NSC) was found to have spent a whopping RM22,335,867 for “professional services, celebrations and hospitality” throughout 2006.   In February 2010, I wrote that the council purchased two units of the Legend Water Chalets in Port Dickson for RM850,000 without the approval of the council’s board of directors and the chalets were never used since 2006. The AG’s Report, had then, suggested “disciplinary action” be taken against officials involved in the transaction.   On Monday, the second series of the 2013 AG’s report was revealed and it, once again, showed discrepancies and shortcomings by government agencies and ministries.    However, many seem to be immune with such findings, calling it “t

Haresh Says, as published in Mailsport every Tuesday, will be known as Ultras Tonjol FC throughout the World Cup. AND suddenly everyone is an expert when it comes to football.  From the six-year-old who aspires to be the next Norshahrul Idlan Talaha to the uncle that is forced to squint his eyes while watching Dutchman Arjen Robben dazzle in front of the Spanish defenders before scoring Holland’s fifth goal in the World Cup on Saturday. It amazes me how some people speak when it comes to football; criticising the lineups of world renowned coaches to scrutinising the antics of world class players whose salary is even more than the gross domestic product of some nations. The media too often have plenty to say. As some of my friends would say to critics: “If you think you so terror, you play-lah.” But this is the beauty of football. There is always room for the hardcore fans and armchair critics. Ironically, listening to them is way better than the rubbish some politician

Fifa has ordered Pahang FA to pay Eduard Sakhnevich US$48,000 (RM154,000) following a contractual dispute between both parties two years ago. Pahang has been given 30 days to pay up the money owed, and that the final date is today. The Elephants admitted they have not paid their former import and were still in discussions with his agent Ricky Swen Jr, as published in Mailsport today. The Russian striker, had in 2012, visited me seeking for help after having lodged complaints to Fifa and FA of Malaysia, claiming his contract for terminated prematurely and that he and his family were forced out of their house in Kuantan. Read the full article here . HD says: Pahang government has set aside an RM600,000 incentive for Pahang after they won the FA Cup.

Haresh Says as published in Malay Mail today. SCREAMS of “Haaareeesshhh!” woke me up from deep sleep early Saturday morning. I rushed out of bed only to see my neighbour Aunty Kim in the house as my mum was seated at the porch with blood oozing from her right foot. “Sudah kena paku lah,” Aunty Kim said. “Cepat bawa mama pergi klinik.” Mum, being the superwoman she is, coolly washed the blood off her foot. She did say she was feeling a little woozy as I handed her a glass of orange juice while cleaning up her wound. All went well as she was later given a tetanus jab by the doctor at the nearby clinic. She kept herself busy as soon as we got home. Her obsession of getting fresh serai (lemon grass) growing wildly at a plot of land near our place earlier that morning proved painful as a rusty nail punctured her foot.  But it was Aunty Kim who came to the rescue. She had immediately rushed to my mum’s aid and held my mum as they made their way to our home. We have been blessed wi

Haresh Says as published in Mailsport today. PERHAPS the prolonged heat wave earlier this year has fried our brains, severely impairing our judgement. And it looks like our ability to think will be further handicapped as we brace for El Nino this month. It could very well last till August or September. Weeks before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, we all turned football pundits and pretended to be Joachim Low or Vicente del Bosque. Housewives and even vegetables sellers were speaking about their favourite team’s chances. Restaurateurs got their workers to wear fake jerseys while roadside burger stalls displayed mini flags of the participating teams.   And during the World Cup, the conversations strictly revolved around football.   Sadly, this is not the case this time around. Brazil — the home of football — hosts the World Cup which kicks off on Thursday (Brazil play Croatia on Friday 4am Malaysian time).   I visited several shopping malls and eate