Read the story below, and I believe the rest of the sporting fraternity would want to throw up after realising that they are just there to make up the numbers.
Even during the days of Dunhill, the figure of football sponsorship was RM30 to RM40 million and now those in Wisma FAM will be out to spend spend spend, without any imagination or responsibility towards tax payers money.
Fine we made the final of Sea Games, but so did we in 2001. But was there that amount of money made available to football.
And what about badminton, there was an attempt to form a trust board, with a capital injection of RM5 million sometime in 2005 but never saw the light of day because the government did not want to support sports at that time?
What about squash, a sport that has provided WORLD champions and not just making regional finals as in the case of football.
What about the pocket dynamite, Azizulhasni who has rocketed into world medals contentions over the past few year?
What about, what about...and the list can go on and on, but trust me there is money to be made hence this announcement.
Just imagine how many hospitals, low cost housing, scholarships and other meaningful acts can be achieved, rather then puring water down the drain..
The Malaysian Cabinet has agreed in principle to the setting up of a fund for football development at the grassroots level as mooted by the Youth and Sports Ministry, said its minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
He said the fund, which would be managed by a board of trustees with an initial capital outlay of about RM50mil to RM60mil, was expected to start operations early next year.
“It will be for grassroots development as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) lacks funds for this purpose.
“However, the elite programme involving the national squad will still be under the FAM,” he told reporters here Tuesday.
Ahmad Shabery said the proposal by the ministry was raised at the Cabinet meeting last Friday and that follow-up action would be taken upon his return to Kuala Lumpur after the closing ceremony of the Laos SEA Games this Friday.
He added that the fund would initially concentrate on football before being extended to other sports.
On football being chosen as the first beneficiary of the fund, Ahmad Shabery it was to be a stimulus for the sport following Malaysia’s success in reaching the final after a 20-year wait at this Laos Games.
Malaysia will take on Vietnam in the final on Thursday.
Ahmad Shabery also said that he was optimistic that Malaysia would be able to the meet the minimum 30-gold target at this 25th edition of the SEA Games.
“If we get 35 gold (medals), it will be a bonus,” he said.
Up till noon Tuesday, Malaysia’s haul was 26 gold medals