Malaysian Football: What Is The Problem With Youth Development In Malaysia
Hello Guys, i was watching Bola Mamak on Astro SuperSport the other day and they were discussing about the importance of youth developments to football in Malaysia. I was immediately inspired to write this piece. Thanks for reading and please feel free to start a discussion below there.
Cheers!
Keeshaanan Sundaresan
Keeshaanan Sundaresan
There has always been heated discussions and debates on how Malaysia could progress in World Football. Numerous suggestions and opinions have been raised on this topics. But it has all ended in never-ending debates that has literally made no difference to the state of the Malaysian Football.
But perhaps there is one fundamental way that everybody in Malaysia would agree. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. But lets get the idea right here first. WHAT IS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ALL ABOUT?
Youth Development is basically getting the current crop of youths to play and develop themselves on different aspects through football. It's the idea of continuously producing footballers for the future of World Football.
Barcelona are known worldwide for their successful youth development system that has produced elite players like Iniesta and Xavi. So, how do we produce top quality athletes here in Malaysia?
Well, i have not seen any proper system introduced by the Malaysian Government yet so i am going to take them out of the equation for now. But private companies and groups have been trying to cement an effective grassroot programme here. Numerous academies have been developed and quite a number of teenagers have got the chance. But what i would like to stress here is that talents are ultimately being wasted. Why do i say so?
The current situation in Malaysia is pretty simple to define. It is absolutely true that there are talent developers in school level. Coaches have been implemented in schools to train students in the school football team and as for that process, it is a good one because true talents can be spotted. However, what happens to this crop of talents once they finish school?
Pretty simple again. It's either they get picked up by the state youth team or else they are simply GONE. It is understandable that the State Youth teams cannot accommodate hundreds of players but there has to be a chance for some of this undeveloped talent.
There has to be a program or other alternatives for the crop of youngsters who were 'not good enough' for the youth teams of Perak, Selangor and etc. Because ability can always be developed, passion is something that grows within themselves. I am pretty sure that lots of passionate young kids were deprived of some good footballing opportunity just because they are deemed to be 'NOT GOOD ENOUGH' by some committee who i doubt even have any proper qualification in scouting players.
Another major reason is the attitude of parents. This is something even i have experienced personally. But i do not blame the parents for this. I blame the education system for this. Orange Man mentioned about a kid getting sick of her Sundays. Well, that is the situation here in Malaysia. Kids are being taught to pass examinations rather than how to face the world. Students are under pressure to perform in their examinations if they want a 'GOOD' future. With the level of competition among students rising every year, even the Parents are also affected and as a result, they tend to got for BOOKS rather than BOOTS.
Therefore, there is no point in debating whether parents should change their attitude or not because as long as the EDUCATION SYSTEM in Malaysia remains the same, their attitude WILL never change. Again i repeat, i do not blame the parents because they are forced to be like that.
Therefore, Youth Development in Malaysia has had numerous problems from different sources. Implementation of it is not a problem but CREATING a successful one has always been a problem.
In Conclusion, I believe that as long as the fundamental issues involving schools and its system are not sorted out, we will never be able to produce qualities in the same level as the MAJOR ASIAN POWERHOUSES in football.
But perhaps there is one fundamental way that everybody in Malaysia would agree. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT. But lets get the idea right here first. WHAT IS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ALL ABOUT?
Youth Development is basically getting the current crop of youths to play and develop themselves on different aspects through football. It's the idea of continuously producing footballers for the future of World Football.
Barcelona are known worldwide for their successful youth development system that has produced elite players like Iniesta and Xavi. So, how do we produce top quality athletes here in Malaysia?
Well, i have not seen any proper system introduced by the Malaysian Government yet so i am going to take them out of the equation for now. But private companies and groups have been trying to cement an effective grassroot programme here. Numerous academies have been developed and quite a number of teenagers have got the chance. But what i would like to stress here is that talents are ultimately being wasted. Why do i say so?
The current situation in Malaysia is pretty simple to define. It is absolutely true that there are talent developers in school level. Coaches have been implemented in schools to train students in the school football team and as for that process, it is a good one because true talents can be spotted. However, what happens to this crop of talents once they finish school?
Pretty simple again. It's either they get picked up by the state youth team or else they are simply GONE. It is understandable that the State Youth teams cannot accommodate hundreds of players but there has to be a chance for some of this undeveloped talent.
There has to be a program or other alternatives for the crop of youngsters who were 'not good enough' for the youth teams of Perak, Selangor and etc. Because ability can always be developed, passion is something that grows within themselves. I am pretty sure that lots of passionate young kids were deprived of some good footballing opportunity just because they are deemed to be 'NOT GOOD ENOUGH' by some committee who i doubt even have any proper qualification in scouting players.
Another major reason is the attitude of parents. This is something even i have experienced personally. But i do not blame the parents for this. I blame the education system for this. Orange Man mentioned about a kid getting sick of her Sundays. Well, that is the situation here in Malaysia. Kids are being taught to pass examinations rather than how to face the world. Students are under pressure to perform in their examinations if they want a 'GOOD' future. With the level of competition among students rising every year, even the Parents are also affected and as a result, they tend to got for BOOKS rather than BOOTS.
Therefore, there is no point in debating whether parents should change their attitude or not because as long as the EDUCATION SYSTEM in Malaysia remains the same, their attitude WILL never change. Again i repeat, i do not blame the parents because they are forced to be like that.
Therefore, Youth Development in Malaysia has had numerous problems from different sources. Implementation of it is not a problem but CREATING a successful one has always been a problem.
In Conclusion, I believe that as long as the fundamental issues involving schools and its system are not sorted out, we will never be able to produce qualities in the same level as the MAJOR ASIAN POWERHOUSES in football.