KUALA LUMPUR – The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is not competing for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) highest award, with its nomination for the Member Association of the Year (Gold) honour coming by default after only three associations submitted applications before the deadline.
AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John said all three applicants were automatically shortlisted, with FAM joining the Hong Kong Football Association and the All India Football Federation as nominees for the award, which will be presented in Bangkok on Nov 19.
“There are tiers for the award, and FAM are not in the highest tier. At AFC, we cover all member associations, and they are grouped according to their capabilities,” he told Scoop when contacted.
Windsor explained that only three member associations submitted applications before the deadline, resulting in all three being nominated.
“Only three member associations submitted their applications by the deadline, and we needed three nominees in the category, so FAM were shortlisted by default,” he said.
The nomination has drawn scrutiny following the controversy involving seven heritage players whose lineage documents were found by FIFA to have been falsified, resulting in sanctions against FAM and the players last year.
French investigative sports journalist Romain Molina recently questioned FAM’s nomination on social media platform X, criticising the AFC and describing it as “a joke”.
Defending the selection process, Windsor said the assessment covered several criteria, allowing member associations to score differently across various areas of football development and administration.
“There are various criteria in the assessment of the nominees. For example, a member association can score zero in governance and administration but score highly in other criteria such as women’s football, grassroots development and competitions,” he said.
He added that the AFC could not prevent member associations from submitting applications and stressed that the evaluation process was designed to ensure fairness.
“AFC cannot stop member associations from submitting their applications. We need to be fair, and the assessment criteria and evaluation metrics are set for the panel to rate the member associations and pick a winner,” he said.
Windsor said the awards were intended to help member associations assess their progress and improve their respective football programmes.
“This award is established for member associations to be evaluated and to progress accordingly. We want our member associations to continue to grow and improve,” he said.
The AFC groups its 47 member associations into four tiers — Platinum, Diamond, Gold and Ruby — based on their capabilities, with FAM placed in the Gold category, below Platinum and Diamond but above Ruby. - October 23, 2026
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