Reliance on heritage players exposes dearth of homegrown talents

MALAYSIA’S 4-0 victory over Vietnam on June 10 in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier should have been a cause for celebration.

The last time Malaysia defeated Vietnam in an official international match was on Dec 11, 2014, in the second leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final in Hanoi, when Malaysia triumphed 4-2 – overturning a 2-1 first-leg deficit to advance 5-4 on aggregate.

However, the latest victory over the reigning Asean champions instead marked one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

In that match, Malaysia fielded seven naturalised players who were later alleged to have falsified documents to support their heritage claims.

The fallout was swift and severe, leading to FIFA sanctions against both FAM and the players involved.

Much has been written about the controversy, but beyond the scandal lies a deeper question: how did Malaysian football decline from being a regional powerhouse to its current struggles?

In 1972, Malaysia qualified for the Munich Olympics by defeating Japan 3-0 in Seoul.

At the Games, Malaysia impressed with a 3-0 victory over the United States before losing to West Germany and Morocco.

Eight years later, the national team again booked its Olympic ticket after a pulsating 2-1 win over South Korea in Kuala Lumpur – where James Wong scored the winning goal from a perfectly-timed assist by his fellow Sabahan, Hassan Sani.

Sadly, Malaysia never played in the 1980 Moscow Olympics after joining the US-led boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

In hindsight, many pundits believe that it was a mistake to deny what was widely regarded as Malaysia’s finest football squad the chance to compete on the world stage.

In that era – before FIFA introduced its world ranking system in 1992 – Malaysia stood on equal footing with Asian powerhouses Japan and South Korea.

Since then, those two nations have risen to global prominence, currently ranked 18th and 22nd, respectively, while Malaysia has plummeted to 118th in the latest FIFA standings.

The root of Malaysia’s football decline lies in the dwindling pipeline of homegrown talents.

The golden generation of the 1970s and 1980s – featuring legends such as Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, James Wong, Harun Jusoh, Santokh Singh and R Arumugam – was never truly replaced.

As these icons retired, the national team struggled to find players of similar calibre to carry the torch.

In contrast, Japan and South Korea invested heavily in their domestic leagues, youth academies, and long-term player development programmes.

These efforts have consistently produced world-class players now starring in Europe’s top leagues, such as Kim Min-jae, Son Heung-min, Wataru Endo, and Daichi Kamada.

In an attempt to revive Malaysia’s fortunes, FAM launched the ‘Heritage Players Programme’ in 2018, recruiting naturalised foreign-born players and those of Malaysian descent.

The plan appeared successful, Malaysia recorded an impressive 2025 season, winning six matches, drawing one, and losing only once.

While the initiative boosted results, it also eroded the emotional connection between the national team and its supporters.

In the past, Malaysians rallied behind homegrown heroes who rose through the local leagues and embodied the spirit of the nation, but today, that passion has dimmed as fans struggle to identify with a team dominated by players who neither share their roots nor their journey – weakening the once-powerful ‘Harimau Malaya’ identity.

Names of national players like Imanol Machuca, Jon Irazabal and Rodrigo Holgado ring no bells with Malaysian fans.

Malaysia’s failure to develop new talents is also tied to a declining interest among youths in playing football.

It is not a uniquely Malaysian problem – many nations face similar challenges due to shifting cultural preferences, a stronger emphasis on academics, and the shrinking number of open fields as urban development expands into rural and suburban areas.

As a result, the national talent pool has steadily shrunk, forcing coaches to turn to foreign-born players to strengthen the squad.

While this has become an accepted practice in club football, FIFA enforces strict heritage regulations for national teams.

A telling example of how far recruitment patterns have evolved can be seen in Scotland’s Glasgow Celtic.

In 1967, when Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup, every player on the team lived within 30 miles of Celtic Park.

Today, more than half the squad are foreign players – including four from Japan.

For professional clubs, fan loyalty rarely wavers regardless of nationality but for national teams, the dynamic is different.

The bond between players and supporters is built on shared identity, pride, and belonging.

And while Malaysians celebrated the 4-0 victory over Vietnam, the joy was tinged with unease – the sense that the team no longer truly represents the nation.

As one Malaysian player reportedly remarked after the match: “It almost feels like cheating.”