Foul!

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...

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...

This was posted on social media yesterday and was widely reported . Let's look at the history regarding the construction of a rugby stadium in Malaysia. 1. For years, domestic and international rugby matches have been played at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya. It must also be noted that several clubs like the Eagles Rugby Club in Sandakan, Sabah have beautiful playing spaces, equipped with the right set up similar to that of a stadium. 2. In Feb, 2010, then Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek revealed there were plans to build a RM35 million rugby stadium in Kota Kinabalu, as reported by The Star . 3. The construction of the stadium did not take off immediately due to several contributing factors including "finding the right site and financial constrains". 4. Ahmad Shabery's predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin had in 2015 visited the site for the new rugby stadium, as posted on his Twitter account. 5.  In 2017, Sabah Rugby Union's V...

And the common remark I receive when meeting those within the sports fraternity these days is ... the "boy is clueless". I hope this article will not be the "garbage that sets the tone for the remaining sports media lowlifes to emulate in their so-called news", as recently remarked by a supposed educated man within the industry. Observations: 1. The minister has a major "perception" problem. Period. Perception is defined as "a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem". He is surrounded by those with very little insights about the fraternity, thus making things worse for him. It could, however, work to his benefit as he will not have a biased view when tackling issues. 2. The minister and his deputy have repeatedly acknowledged they are not well-versed with sports. They can choose to rely on the several experienced hands within the ministry - namely secretary general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali and National S...

The  National Athletes Welfare Foundation ( Yakeb ) will begin shortly. It's chairman Azlan Iskandar is expected to address several queries raised in recent days - mainly about funds within the organisation. So expect some slide shows detailing Yakeb's expenditure over the years.  Perhaps something like these cost cutting initiatives: And Yakeb's 2018 expenditure: Since there has been zero funds from government this year, expect a certain Datuk Seri Megat to play white knight and raise RM500,000 from GLCs and MNCs. There are also plans to ensure former athletes get job placements. What about former national squash player Azlan?  He could very well use this opportunity to set the record straight before leaving the top seat. As Bone Thugs-N-Harmony sang, Facts Don't Lie. 

Image: National Sports Council, Malaysia The focus seems to be on the Podium Programme for obvious reasons. After all, those behind the programme had set high targets but have to date failed twice – failing to finish top ten in both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. While the knives are out for those behind the Podium Programme, a programme under the National Sports Institute, let’s not forget another programme under the National Sports Council – Kita Juara . On Sept 7, 2015, The Star (in its article ‘ Kita Juara’programme launched in bid for SEA Games glory ') quoted former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as saying: “The ‘Kita Juara’ programme will lay the foundation for future success ... it’s not short-sighted. “There’s no point becoming overall winners at the 2017 SEA Games and then let it all go downhill once more.”  Malaysia became the overall winners at last year’s SEA Games – winning 145 gold medals, 92 silver medals and 86...

Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, the former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary, has written the second part of his mid-term review of the Podium Programme. For the uninitiated, Kok Chi - a former engineer with the Irrigation and Drainage Department of Malaysia and represented the country in water polo - has served Malaysian sports for decades, mainly through OCM. Here are his views, as emailed to Foul! minutes ago: Mid term review of the Podium Programme - Part II After publishing my review of the Podium Programme , I received many views, comments and requests for clarifications, which I feel I should respond. The main questions asked were as follows: What was the actual budget and how much had been spent and on what? Why was Podium Program staff paid higher salaries than other the National Sports Institute (NSI) and National Sports Council (NSC) staff? With regards to the workshop on the Podium Programme scheduled Sept 13 and 14 20...

Nadi Arena Analisis Sukan Asia Jakarta-Palembang 2018 producer Lukman Salleh and I were searching for information regarding the Podium Programme on the National Sports Institute (NSI) website. And we couldn't find anything. After my show on Astro Arena (live 9pm-10pm daily till Sept 2 on channel 800 and 803HD), I tried visiting NSI's website again and still can't seem to find any info regarding the Podium Programme, unlike before. We tried clicking under Info Korporat followed by ' Program Podium ' (listed under the 'Bahagian' section) and were redirected to the landing page instead. Thankfully I have screened shot information regarding the Podium Programme's objectives, as documented in my previous articles: April 15, 2018: Walk the talk April 17, 2018: Sports programme galore - success of waste of tax payers' money? It's baffling that such crucial information is 'missing' from the website. It gives...

UPDATE: May 5 (1.39pm) OCM's new line up 2018-2021 President: Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria Deputy president: Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Zabidi Vice presidents: Datuk Paduka Mumtaz Jaafar, Datuk Ong Poh Eng, Mahindra Vallipuram, Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim, Prof Datuk Dr Shamala Subramaniam Secretary-general: Datuk Nazifuddin Najib Assistant secretary-general: Chan Foong Keong & Moira Tan Siew See Treasurer: Ahmad Feisal Ahmad Tajuddin Assistant treasurer: Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill Norza paid tribute to outgoing president Tunku Imran Jaafar and assistanct secretary-general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi.  He had also in his speech said the "workings within OCM cannot be based on the interpretations of one or two individuals".  He was unimpressed with the mudslinging and poison pen letter that surfaced days before today's election, adding: "I'll leave it to the authorities to investigate and name those responsible for the letter...

Another 'fairy tale' this week: 1) National athlete has a coach up until the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. 2) The national athlete is then left on his own immediately after regional Games. 3) National athlete prepares for 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast without a coach. 4) National athlete appeals to the stakeholders, including Olympic Council of Malaysia, requesting if a coach can join the national contingent. Request denied. 5) National athlete was not too sure what was his KPI for Gold Coast. 6) Now national athlete is preparing for Asian Games - once again without a coach. 7) National athlete is once again unsure what is the KPI for the Games in Jakarta-Palembang. 8) Isn't it the onus of the stakeholders to ensure the national athlete has a coach? The national coach is after all under a programme initiated by an agency under the Youth and Sports Ministry. 9) And since some officials love playing the blame game and shooting the messenger, let's...

Let’s take a look at some of the sports programmes we have had since the 90s.  At least five were listed on the National Sports Council’s website: Here are some of the more "popular" programmes: i.                   Jaya 98                           Launched in 1993, the Jaya 98 programme set the tone for numerous sports including diving, gymnastics and weightlifting, allowing them to grow and mould talents who were title contenders.. The architect behind the programme was Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad .  ii.                  Asiacomm This was what The Star’s Rajes Paul wrote in 2006 : TWO heads, they say, are better than one. And that's a maxim that's has been taken to heart in Malaysian sports.  Take, for instance, AsiaComm – a multi-million ringgit ...