Malaysia planning to offer citizenship to foreign players_____________________________________

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The first steps to give citizenship to foreign players are being taken by the Football Association of Malaysia. The country’s football governing body is set to approach the government with their proposals.

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin revealed that the board is set to submit a plan to the government to allow naturalisation after their meeting on 30th March. He went on to add that they would be careful with their plan and that they will not ‘naturalise players without putting a lot of thought into it’.

“Our mechanism to naturalise players is based on studies done on teams such as Japan, Singapore and Spain who have revived the sport through naturalised players,” said Hamidin as reported by The Star.

“We’ll abide by the regulations set by FIFA and if our government agree, we’ll proceed with it. We’ve to be careful because we don’t want players to abuse the Malaysian passport once they get it.

“We’re not going to naturalise players without putting a lot of thought into it. There are several requirements to be met before they can be naturalised,” he added.

“For example, a foreign player must stay in the country for five consecutive years to be considered. This is one of the rules set by FIFA.”

The first player who was naturalised by Malaysia was Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh. Reportedly, Melaka’s Liridon Krasniqi of Kosovo and Terengganu’s Lee Tuck of England might be the next players to be benefitted by the scheme if FAM’s plans fall into place.