Foul!

1. The subject of unpaid wages in the Malaysian football scene is nothing new. 2. Every year, just before the new season begins, reports of footballers and coaches not receiving their dues for months hog the limelight. 3. This year is no different. Melaka United Football Association has embarked on a donation drive to raise funds to settle its 2019 debts, as reported b y Berita Harian . 4. In 2011, several Kuala Lumpur fans initiated a Save KLFA campaign following the association's financial woes. The intention was noble but Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) failed to capitalise on the momentum. Eight years on, KLFA still believes that  placing a politician as its president  will free the association of monetary issues. 5. Long term plans are alien to most sports organisations in Malaysia as its presidents and office bearers are only interested in making an impact, if any, during their term. 6. However, the guardians of Malaysian football had once impleme...

1. Kuala Lumpur FA (KLFA) hogged the backpages of local dailes in the 80s and 90s, winning the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years - 1987, 1988 and 1989. 2. However, the city team has been struggling to make an impact since mainly due to financial issues - despite the various politicians elected as the president. 3. In 2011, a Save KLFA campaign was initiated, as reported by Foul! 4. Yet, eight years later nothing has changed with the office bearers singing the same tune, hoping the team will be "among the best in the country". 5. That statement is as lame as "bola itu bulat". Shallow, expected, unimaginative and sheer rhetoric. 6. Over the weekend, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, who is also the Federal Territories Minister, was named president. He will serve from 2019-2023. 7. Khalid joins the likes of former Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and several others in playing a role in KLFA. I wonder how different wil...

1. I was jogging earlier this evening when a group of men, in their 40s, were smoking on the same pathway. 2. One of them stopped me and asked: " Abang, exercise hari-hari boleh hidup lama ka? " while the other two were sniggering. 3. I replied: " Mungkin mati esok, janji happy ." And I continued jogging. 4. While it may seem as an innocent joke, or perhaps it's the alcohol talking, it is deeply disturbing for someone to downplay something as important as exercise. Even sadder, October is Bulan Sukan Negara . 5. But I have noticed that this is the perception by many - that jogging or exercising on a daily basis is only for the "entitled few". Some view it as a "waste of time" and that "exercising daily will not guarantee growing old gracefully."  6. Some of my friends, who exercise almost daily, have heard others saying: " Orang kaya sahaja boleh exercise hari-hari ." and " Alah, poyo lah. Bu...

 ... because they just can't seem to express themselves. 1. Character is important in sports. It builds confidence and ownership of an athlete to the sport. Basically, those who ooze character are passionate about the sport they represent. 2. But there is obviously no place for rude athletes, regardless how good they are. Having said that, it is no rocket science to single out an "arrogant / harmless" comment compared to a downright "rude" comment. 3. Athletes speaking out against organisations or even world federations are not new. They are entitled to speak for they are the reason the sport is alive - not the officials. 4. In March, all 28 members of the current US women's football team sued the US Soccer Federation for gender discrimination. The same month, Athletics Kenya lambasted a decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to scrap the 5,000 metres from the Diamond League programme as “illegitimate”. At la...

The Borneo Post today reported that the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Sarawak and Sabah have agreed to set up the East Malaysia Sports Commission (EMSC). The proposal for the establishment of the commission, according to the report, is to facilitate the organisation of more sports programmes in the two states. The report raises several questions: 1. Will the East Malaysia Sports Commission be part of the Sports Commissioner's Office or will it stand on its own? 2. Were the Sports Commissioner's Office and Youth and Sports Ministry in Putrajaya consulted about the move? 3.  Will the EMSC be governed by the Sports Development Act? For the record, the Sports Commissioner's Office has an office in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, as listed on its website . The Sports Development Act clearly states that those intending to organise local or international events must obtain approval from the Sports Commissioner's Office or face fines and/or jail time. News websi...

Press release Malaysian waterski darling Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah can certainly stand tall after rounding up the International Waterski and Wakeborard Federation (IWWF) Waterski World Championships on a high. With nothing to lose, the 16-year-old delivered another outstanding showing in the women’s tricks final to score 7,440 at the Water Sport Complex, Putrajaya today. The score was better that her achievement  of 7,320 in the preliminaries and it is yet another new Asian open women’s tricks record. She finished ninth following several upsets with American Erika Lang and Canadian Neilly Ross fumbling their runs. Aaliyah also finished 10th in the women’s overall category with a score of 1,984.63. “I think it was a pretty good way to finish despite the fact that I fell at the end and I’m lucky that the judges didn’t take away those points from my tricks run,” said Aaliyah who has a personal best of 7,600. “I’m usually not so consistent with my scores because nerves g...

Press release National youth head coach, Kwan Yoke Meng is eyeing for improvement from his young charges at this year’s Celcom Axiata Malaysia International Junior Open (CAMIJO). A total of 41 players from the national youth setup featuring Kok Jin Hong, Ooi Jhy Dar, Yap Roy King and Fazriq Razif are set to take on heavy hitters that include world junior No. 10 Christo Popov of France and world junior No. 21 Sirawit Sothon of Thailand. “My target for this tournament is to achieve better than last year’s record of four representatives in the quarterfinals. “I hope that the young players will be able to take this opportunity to upset their opponents and gain more confidence in their own abilities,” said Kwan. The 53-year-old coach will have to make do without the services of men’s singles shuttler, Lee Shun Yang who picked up an ankle injury in training while fourth seeded mixed doubles player, Gan Jing Err is a doubt due to foot injury. “Hopefully ...

PRESS RELEASE It’s a huge breakthrough for Malaysian waterski darling Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah after she reached her first final at the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) Waterski World Championships. Starting eighth in the women’s tricks preliminaries series 2, the teenager was at her calmest under intense pressure as she racked up a total of 7,320 points at the Water Sport Complex, Putrajaya on Friday. That temporarily put her in the lead and it proved to be more than enough as she eventually finished ninth. Only the top 12 skiers progress to the final and Aaliyah’s achievement is a massive step forward as she becomes the first ever Asian skier to reach a tricks final. Additionally, her score of 7,320 is also a brand new Asian record, erasing her own previous record 7,250. It is shy of her personal best score of 7,600 but the spunky 16-year-old was simply elated to make the final. “I really don’t know what to feel right now. It’s just so cool to be in...

PRESS RELEASE Ukraine’s sudden emergence in the waterski world is due to a passionate lover of the sport – Alexy Martynov. A former water skier and a successful businessman, Martynov has virtually put Ukraine on the world map of waterski from his efforts that started 12 years ago when he formed the Sentosa waterski club and school in Dnepropetrovsk. Danylo Fil’Chenko, a pioneer product of the club, is competing in the on-going International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) World Waterski Championship in Putrajaya. He sees action in three events – Slalom, Tricks and Jumps. Fil' Chenko said he owes his rise in the sport to Martynov and the club. “Martynov not only set up the club but has been sponsoring the Ukrainian team to all the competitions,” said the 20-year-old who is studying construction management at the University of Louisiana Monroe in USA. “The Ukrainian national team is virtually the Sentosa club team. It was only recently, when our team started getti...

PRESS RELEASE Asian skiers will have more reason to look forward to the Waterski World Championships which starts today at the Putrajaya Lake. This is because for the first time in history, the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) has approved of a parallel ‘Best Asian Skier’ category to run alongside the main world meet event. This is indeed a significant move aimed at giving recognition to the passion and dedication of Asian skiers as well as giving the sport a push towards development in this region. With waterski in Asia traditionally lagging behind the American and European counterparts, it is highly unlikely for the Asian skiers participating in the world meet to make it through to the finals. The only Asian skier who could make the final is Malaysian sensation Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah, who is currently ranked No. 12 in the IWWF world rankings in tricks. But it is still a very tall order for the 16-year-old who is going up against som...

'War' could be seen as a strong word but it sure seems like it for some within the media fraternity. Several incidents, including the statement issued by the Finance Ministry two days ago, have further irked members of the Press who are already battling woes within their organisations. The statement, issued on Aug 10, 2019, was in response to Bernama's financial constraints . While the statement provided a clarification to the situation, those in the industry question if the last paragraph was necessary. In fact, the last paragraph got some wondering if it was a statement by the ministry or a state government (as seen pre-GE14). On Aug 7, members of the local media "kesal" after they left out of a press conference during the Malaysia-China Belt and Road Economic Cooperation Forum in Kuala Lumpur. And not too long ago, the Human Resources Development Fund sued a (or two) journalist/columnist/reporter over an international cours...

Remember the national tiger stripe jersey episode? The Federal Court decided that the Youth and Sports Ministry is the rightful owner of the design and one would assume it will be the end of the story. Well, it was certainly the end of the design as Melinda Looi's creation replaced the old kit. The case garnered interest within the legal fraternity. As Zuhairy Fauzy from Ella Cheong IP Services Sdn Bhd wrote: "This case highlights the importance of striking while the iron is hot – that is, registering one’s trade mark (or other IP rights) at the first possible opportunity. Otherwise, third parties may take advantage of the situation and file the mark in their own name, resulting in unnecessary complications." Here are some articles that were published in the past: Wah...flexing muscles ke? Ex-NSC DG confirms no effort taken to register 'tiger stripes' The Tale of the Tiger Stripes Tiger stripe jersey - failed branding opportunity...

Now here's a tale about a bailarin. The bailarin, had just slightly over a year ago, tried hard to lure new partners. He did the cabeceo , a traditional technique for selecting dance partners from a distance using eye contact and head movements. But he was snubbed. He tried to book a date (minus the chimichurri steak and wine), hoping to catch the attention of the new dance partners. The bailarin failed. He was without doubt slighted. Fuelled with hope, the bailarin continued to  practica (informal training session for tango dancers) on his own. He has been training hard to do the  gancho , hoping once he 'hooked' the new dance partner, the parejas  will be able to passionately mesmerise the crowd. The bailarin was willing to adapt, even it means dancing while playing Tango 5: The Last Dance on his Android phone or to the tune of the 'Game of Thrones' theme . It's been over a year and none of the ne...

Well that's what many people are saying. But are they missing the point and barking up the wrong tree? To be fair, let's look at the original Facebook posting by eSports Malaysia that made its rounds and riled many up. Syed Abdullah Syed Abdul Rahman, brother of the Youth and Sports Minister, was listed as the guest of honour at the Malaysia eSports selection for the 2019 SEA Games. And the comments that followed were nothing but pleasant. It should, however, be noted that no where in the posting above states that Syed Abdullah was representing the Youth and Sports Ministry or was he representing the minister, who happens to be his brother. Unless it can be proven that the ministry had allowed Syed Abdullah to represent it (which is highly unlikely but then again anything is possible these days), it is fair to say the writer of the Facebook posting believed highlighting the minister's name could carry some weight and please ...