PUTRAJAYA — Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has clarified that the RM15 million allocation announced earlier by the government is strictly reserved for the national football team’s 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
She said that the funds cannot be used for any other purpose, including settling the fine imposed on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) by FIFA.
“The allocation is specifically for the national team’s Asian Cup campaign and not for anything else,” Hannah told reporters during a press conference at Menara KBS here today.
Hannah explained that the funds are channelled to FAM under close supervision from the National Sports Council (NSC), KBS, and the Finance Ministry (MOF) to ensure full transparency in their use.
“Every expenditure must be reported to the NSC and is monitored by the ministry. Therefore, there is no question of the funds being used for other purposes,” she said.
FAM has recently come under scrutiny after being fined 350,000 Swiss Franc (RM1.9 million) by FIFA for breaching Article 22 of the Disciplinary Code, which relates to document falsification.
The association’s appeal against the ruling was dismissed by FIFA’s Appeal Committee, and FAM has since expressed its intention to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Hannah also confirmed that the cost of bringing the case to CAS will be fully borne by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, and not by the government’s allocation. — November 7, 2025