Malaysian Football League confirms March 5 kickoff

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The Malaysian Football League (MFL) has confirmed a March 5 start date for the 2021 season, after COVID-19 forced a postponement of the competition.

At an online meeting of the club’s CEOs and MFL Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan, all club representatives supported the decision to commence on March 5.

Hassan said that the new competition start date was the best move for the survival of the domestic football industry as well as giving way to the national team which has upcoming 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifying matches.

The season was originally scheduled to kickoff on February 26.

The MFL CEO also acknowledged that the Malaysian Football League was understanding of the difficulties club face with interrupted preparations to the 2021 season.

“MFL is committed to ending the league campaign with full matches (22 matches) where we do not want to take risks that will affect the sponsorship other than measures to reduce matches or cancel other tournaments such as the Malaysia Cup or Challenge Cup had to be taken if the Malaysia League calendar begins slower,” the MFL said in a statement.

CEO of Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC, Khamal Idris Ali was among the club representatives to give a positive response to the March 5 competition start.

“KDA FC accepts this MFL decision and can accept the situation faced by the MFL due to certain unavoidable obstacles,” he said.

“Looking at certain factors such as the national team also needs space to make preparations, we also need to understand the interests of the country and follow the voice of other majority who also agree.

“If followed, the government has given permission for us to train and hold matches, it is enough to have good news in the current situation.

“In the current situation, the team has no choice but to be creative and may use the available space to prepare even in a short period of time.”

As of yesterday, clubs could start centralised training programs in quarantine bubbles – the MFL required players to return a negative COVID-19 test result before being allowed to commence training.

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Daniel Foley is a sports junior journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy and micro industry matters.

Key concerns for FIFPRO’s Player Workload Monitoring report

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Image credit: Jude Bellingham Instagram

FIFPRO has recently released their annual Player Performance and Recovery report for 2024, this report is developed by FIFPRO IQ in conjunction with Football Benchmark, a leading data and analysis group on football business.

The report explains in detail the problems facing professional footballers by leaders within the industry and the players themselves. This report not only factors in the physical impact of the sport but also the psychological impact.

FIFPRO’s Player Workload Monitoring tool (PWM) the primary system behind this report monitors 1500 players spread across 100 leagues and 150 nationalities.

They have pointed out the obvious lack of appreciation by tournament organisers for the physical and mental well-being of football players and an evident lack of organised calendar planning.

Acting FIFPRO General Secretary Stephane Burchkalter stressed the importance of this report via press release:

“We release these reports for a good reason. Because, today, we face one of the most serious and urgent problems in our sport. A problem that results from the abuse of governance and a failure of the duty of care. The holistic workload that confronts our players is unprecedented. It has produced a physical and mental fatigue that is now dangerous.”

With increased match loads, travel loads and shortening of preparation the risks have never been higher with 54% of PMW players experiencing excessive or high-demand workloads.

88% of players’ time is recorded to be spent in the workplace environment and 17% in national team environments.

The world-renowned Uruguayan coach Marco Bielsa stated via press release:

“To ignore the consequences of the number of games and amount of travelling will end in injuries for any player.”

This report identifies that some players have seen their free time fall to nearly 12% of the calendar year, which adds up to less than a single day off per week. This fails to comply with international Occupational Safety and Health standards.

There have been calls for a guaranteed rest period which 72% of players and 78% of coaches support.

As the demand for games grows and the push for more revenue skyrockets, the players see their health and voices continue to deteriorate.

This report and FIFAPRO highlight the firm action that needs to happen to protect the stars of the sport.

For more information about the report, read more here.

AFCAS recruitment and scouting workshops coming to Australia

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Image credit: AFCAS website

The Association of Football Coaching and Scouting (AFCAS) have confirmed that their recruitment and player scouting workshops are coming to Australia.

These interactive workshops are all online and led by AFCAS managing director Ged Searson – a professional football scout with over 15 years of experience and who has also been a football coach for almost 30 years, learning from the likes of Sir Bobby Robson.

Searson has previously worked as a scout for clubs such as West Ham United, Grimsby Town FC and Leyton Orient FC in England.

Most recently, he served as the chief scout and analyst of the Malawi national team during the 2022 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon going as far as the Round of 16.

The workshops run for three and a half hours over two evenings and are designed for both new and experienced football scouts aiming to enhance their skills and development.

This will also be helpful for football coaches and agents to help them improve their scouting abilities and also to gain an understanding of the recruitment process at professional football clubs.

Throughout these workshops, video footage will be used to complete scouting tasks giving participants the chance to practice scouting techniques.

Attendees will also develop a better understanding of how professional clubs scout players and how recruitment systems operate at the highest levels of football.

Some of the content in these workshops will include:

  • Learning various professional football scouting techniques and skills.
  • Learn how to write and create your own scouting reports.
  • Understanding different types of scout reporting and assignments.
  • Assessing player performance in different playing positions.

These workshops are limited to nine attendees, creating opportunities to interact with not only the presenter but also fellow attendees and it will provide potential networking opportunities with different people in the football industry.

Participants will also receive a scouting pack, including software, to complete their own scouting reports following the workshop.

The sessions will run on Wednesday, September 11 from 7 pm – 10:30 pm and on Friday, September 13 from 6:30 pm – 10 pm.

If you are interested in having a career in the football industry, click the link to claim your spot in these online workshops.

For more information about AFCAS, visit the website.

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