SHAH ALAM: Fifteen teams, including five women’s sides, have confirmed their participation in the country’s first professional futsal league, the Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL).
The six-month long MPFL, launched by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) at a hotel on Sunday, will start in April on a home-away basis. The champions will receive RM100,000 while the runners-up will get RM50,000.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the MPFL was aimed at taking futsal into the professional era, in line with FAM’s roadmap, or F-30, which was launched last year.
He also urged the teams to look for their own sponsors and not be so reliant on FAM for funds.
The 10 men’s teams are Kedah, KL City, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu while the five women’s teams are Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Perlis and Selangor.
Hamidin said the teams might be allowed to hire foreign players in two or three years from now in a bid to avoid the issue of unpaid salaries, which currently plagues several teams in the Malaysia League (M-League).
Meanwhile, FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam said establishing the MPFL was one of the conditions set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for futsal clubs here to obtain their licences and, thus, be allowed to play in tournaments organised by the Asian football governing body. – Bernama
