FAM receives AFC's endorsement to run coaching course

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are one of only six member associations in Asia that has received the recognition from AFC to conduct coaching courses internally without prior approval from the continental governing body.

Japan, Qatar and China are the only three countries in Asia who have successfully applied to conduct all level of coaching course until the Pro Diploma level while Malaysia are now together with Iran and Philippines as the only countries that have successfully applied to conduct coaching courses until the A level. 36 other member associations (MAs) are in the midst of application processing.

Historically FAM was the association that introduced the existing A, B and C courses back in the 90s which AFC then took on to developed into the current iteration. It is on merit that FAM has received this recognition and could now put in more effort to develop good coaches with more modern methods. 

"There are a lot of countries who have applied for the coaches convention. For the process, there's an application which involves a lot of documents submission and checking. Then we have a panel of coach education members chosen from the 47 MAs who travel to the respective countries to assess the courses. After that the panel will make the decisions," said Wim Koevermans the AFC Technical Deputy Director.

The courses which will be implement will also have a touch of Malaysian note to it as FAM's technical department has added in local requirements on top of the existing AFC recommendations. The convention is valid for three years after which AFC will conduct a review to see if the approval continues. 

"At international level, the difference is made in terms of technical level and the quality of decision making. So we need to teach our players from a young age onwards, that we need them to learn to make better decisions. When you look at the way we coach players at a young age, we always tell them what to do.

"But if we know that the quality of the opposition is strong, what sets you apart from the rest, we're not actually addressing that. That's why we need to make a fundamental change in how we coach players. That is just one of many things in terms of content and methodology that we want to improve," explained Peter de Roo, FAM's Technical Director.

The coaching charter is a big part of FAM's massive F:30 roadmap as they seek to push football in Malaysia to a greater height using a holistic approach. Now with the coaching portion readied, FAM will look to launch the 'Malaysia DNA' in early July to compliment the structure.

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