PETALING JAYA, Jan 5 -- Former All India Football Federation (AIFF) technical director Scott O'Donell, 54, has been appointed as the new technical director of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) with a three-year contract effective today.
O'Donell will replace Datuk Ong Kim Swee who announced his resignation last September after accepting an offer as head coach of the Sabah FC Super League team.
Kim Swee was appointed as the FAM technical director on Jan 1, 2021.
FAM secretary-general Mohd Saifuddin Abu Bakar, when announcing the new appointment, said the Australia-born FIFA instructor from Sydney was selected based on his knowledge in the Southeast Asian football arena and his qualifications.
“He is definitely the best candidate for this position with high qualifications as a FIFA coaching instructor.
"He is also familiar with the football situation in Southeast Asia with past experience playing with Kuala Lumpur and also in his coaching capacity in Singapore and Cambodia," Saifuddin said at a press conference to announce the appointment.
O’Donell, who previously served as technical director of Capital Football, the governing body of women’s football in the Australian capital, Canberra, since 2017, resigned last November.
The former defender is also familiar with the region's football culture, having played for Kuala Lumpur in 1994-1995, besides playing in the Singapore League with Tampines Rovers (1996-97, 1999-2000) and Marine Castle United (1998-99).
Apart from being the coach of Geylang United (2003-2005) in Singapore, his credentials include experience as head coach of the Cambodian national squad twice (2005-2007 and 2009-2010) before becoming the technical director of AIFF (2015-2017).
Meanwhile, FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram is optimistic that O'Donell's presence will strengthen the development of football in the country.
"I am happy to have him in the FAM, certainly regarding the youth development programme. He knows the culture here, I think it will be easier for me to work with him and I believe we can go higher in youth development, especially in the under-17, -20 and -23," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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