Ab Ghani Declines Comment On FAM President Speculation

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Football League (MFL) president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan has declined to comment on rumours linking his name as a potential candidate for the presidency of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

He said it is not appropriate to discuss the matter at this time and chose to focus on his responsibilities with the Malaysia League.

“I don’t know (about being linked)… no need to talk (about the FAM presidential nomination)… I am still the MFL president,” he said briefly when met by reporters at MFL’s breaking-of-fast event in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

There has been speculation linking Ab Ghani as one of the potential candidates to contest the FAM presidency at the upcoming election congress.

Besides Ab Ghani, other names mentioned by local media include Capital A Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and corporate figure Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah.

So far, only Paralympic Council Malaysia president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin has expressed interest in leading FAM.

According to FAM’s statute, a presidential candidate must secure at least six nominations from the total 18 affiliate members to be eligible to contest.

In January, all members of the FAM Committee for the 2025-2029 term resigned collectively and voluntarily with immediate effect as a principled and prudent move following the falsified document crisis that hit the governing body.

The crisis began in September last year after the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) confirmed that FAM and seven Harimau Malaya players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Jodo Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel — were found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

-- BERNAMA