The Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) decision to allow M-League teams to sign two foreign imports next season will keep the local players on their toes in fighting for a first choice slot in the starting line-up.
Head coach of Sarawak Football Development, Miri Zone, Pengiran Bala said the re-introduction of imported players would not only pull in the crowd but also motivate the local players to raise their game in order to secure a spot in the first 11.
“We agree with FAM’s decision. The local players will have to fight harder to keep their place in the team and this will sharpen their competitive edge,” he said yesterday.
Pengiran, who is also former Sarawak coach, said involvement of foreign imports in M-League would give the local players the opportunity to shine and perhaps even impress football clubs in the region that might be interested in signing them as a result.
According to him, the local players could also learn from the imports.
“There is now a trend for English Premier League (EPL) clubs to fly out to Asia during the offseason to play friendly matches with teams in the region, including Malaysia. This will give Asian teams the chance to pick up the finer points of the game and evaluate the standards of their players.”
Pengiran said during such tours, talented Asian players might catch the eye of visiting talent scouts and get the chance to play in Europe and even the EPL.
“There are a number of EPL teams seeking players from Asia and if our players are really up to the mark, who knows, one day they might get to play for international clubs.”
However, for clubs not financially stable, he advised them not risk signing imported players.
“If a club or association can afford it, by all means go for foreign talents, otherwise it should just stick to local players.”
Pengiran said the wages of imported players were also much higher than those of the local players, adding that absorbing the former into the local sides would be costly.
“We hope teams in M-League 2012 will not be overly excited about engaging imported players.
We worry they might not be able to pay not only the imported players but also the local players.”
Imported players have been playing in Malaysia since the Semi-Pro League in the1980’s before FAM decided to end their participation from 2009.
Head coach of Sarawak Football Development, Miri Zone, Pengiran Bala said the re-introduction of imported players would not only pull in the crowd but also motivate the local players to raise their game in order to secure a spot in the first 11.
“We agree with FAM’s decision. The local players will have to fight harder to keep their place in the team and this will sharpen their competitive edge,” he said yesterday.
Pengiran, who is also former Sarawak coach, said involvement of foreign imports in M-League would give the local players the opportunity to shine and perhaps even impress football clubs in the region that might be interested in signing them as a result.
According to him, the local players could also learn from the imports.
“There is now a trend for English Premier League (EPL) clubs to fly out to Asia during the offseason to play friendly matches with teams in the region, including Malaysia. This will give Asian teams the chance to pick up the finer points of the game and evaluate the standards of their players.”
Pengiran said during such tours, talented Asian players might catch the eye of visiting talent scouts and get the chance to play in Europe and even the EPL.
“There are a number of EPL teams seeking players from Asia and if our players are really up to the mark, who knows, one day they might get to play for international clubs.”
However, for clubs not financially stable, he advised them not risk signing imported players.
“If a club or association can afford it, by all means go for foreign talents, otherwise it should just stick to local players.”
Pengiran said the wages of imported players were also much higher than those of the local players, adding that absorbing the former into the local sides would be costly.
“We hope teams in M-League 2012 will not be overly excited about engaging imported players.
We worry they might not be able to pay not only the imported players but also the local players.”
Imported players have been playing in Malaysia since the Semi-Pro League in the1980’s before FAM decided to end their participation from 2009.
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