Foreign-born players scandal topples FAM officials

The entire executive committee of Malaysia's football association resigned yesterday, the latest blow in a damaging eligibility row over forged documents used to field foreign-born players in Asian Cup qualifiers.

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The move follows Fifa’s probe last year into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) over its inclusion of “heritage players” in the national team — foreign-born athletes accused of falsely claiming Malaysian ancestry.

“The resignations are to safeguard the reputation and institutional interests of [the association] and to mitigate the risk of further adverse consequences that could affect Malaysian football as a whole,” acting president Yusoff Mahadi told reporters.

He described the move as voluntary, and a “measured and principled step taken in response to recent developments that have attracted significant public attention and external scrutiny”.