AFC proposes major governance reforms for FAM, including a leaner 11-member exco and stricter candidate eligibility.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has proposed 94 articles in the new 2026 Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) statutes which will be tabled during the FAM Extraordinary Congress this Thursday.
AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said the proposed changes are part of sweeping governance reforms aimed at modernising Malaysian football and designed to align FAM with international governance standards practised by leading football nations.
Among the major proposed changes, Windsor said is the restructuring of the FAM Executive Committee (exco) members, which will be reduced to 11 members compared to 17 previously.
Under the proposed statute, he said clubs competing at the highest level of Malaysian football, particularly Super League clubs, as well as expert groups representing coaches, referees and players, will be admitted as FAM exco members with voting rights during congress.
“So we have now our proposal president one seat, vice president three seats. Three seats for state football associations, two seats for clubs, one seat for women, one seat for expert group (consisting referee, coaches or players association).
“So all together exco 11 people only…very lean and we hope that they would be able to deliver,” he said during a press conference, here, today.
Windsor said he proposed the statute also introduces stricter eligibility criteria for candidates contesting positions within FAM.
According to Windsor, candidates must also currently hold positions in football administration for five consecutive years, below 70 years old and pass several background screenings such as from the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Department of Insolvency.
Windsor said that all ordinary decisions during the congress would only require a simple majority, or “50 plus one”, to be approved, while amendments involving changes to the statute would require a three-fourths majority vote.
Windsor said that if delegates do not agree with the proposed draft statute as a whole, any objection to the proposed amendments must be backed by proper justification and an alternative proposal.
“You cannot stand up and say ‘I don’t agree’. Voting time u vote, but say you have a better proposal.
“And then when you give that suggestion, you have to tell me why that suggestion is better,” he said.
In the meantime, Windsor also said that AFC will table the quality audit of the FAM management which will be tabled and explained later during the FAM Extraordinary Congress.
Last January, all FAM Exco members for the 2025–2029 term announced resignation en masse on a collective and voluntary basis.
The decision was made unanimously, taking into account organisational responsibility and without personal interests or positions, and was a prudent and principled step in light of the current situation that has drawn public attention on heritage player issue, among other aims to safeguard the integrity of FAM.
As such, Windsor said a special team from the AFC will be formed and led by AFC Deputy Secretary-General Vahid Kardany, together with several consultants, to carry out the assessment before presenting a report with recommendations for improvements to FAM.
