J-League wants to help

Ohigashi with Stuart

J.League Chairman Kazumi Ohigashi has pledged to keep the strong working relationship and partnership with the AFC through more inspection and development projects to improve Japan’s club football.

Speaking at the closing on Tuesday of a development inspection development exercise by a special mission team (SMT) from the AFC Professional Football Development Project, Ohigashi said:

“Since the beginning of the inspection, I understand that the schedule has been challenging. I would like to thank you for the cooperation and hard work. 

“Last year, we received good feedback from our 40 clubs regarding the club licensing programme and we like to have your advice to improve our system. 

“Based on your assessment, we will try our best to improve. In the meantime, through such inspection and development projects, we like to keep this partnership and strong relationship with AFC.”

Director of Club Competitions Stuart Ramalingam, who led the SMT’s development inspection from April 13 to 17, responded to Ohigashi, saying: “We appreciate the warm hospitality during our stay in Japan. 

“We are aware that the J.League takes the Club Licensing Regulations one step higher than what AFC has advised and we appreciate your leadership in this new project. We would like to have continuous support from Japan for the development of professional football in Asia.”

Hammam's last try

Mohamed Hammam will make his final bid to overturn his lifetime FIFA ban from bribery on Wednesday (18/0/12).

The Qatari is taking an appeal against the ban, which was imposed by FIFA's ethics committee in July, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.

Hammam was banned for life after being found guilty of paying cash gifts totalling nearly 1million US dollars (£630,000) to football officials from Caribbean countries during his FIFA presidential campaign last May.

The 62-year-old, who had also been president of the Asian Football Confederation, failed to overturn the ban at FIFA's appeals committee in September and the CAS panel remains his last chance.

Hammam is not expected to attend the hearing in person but to leave the legal arguments to his lawyers. FIFA will also have their legal team arguing that the bribery charges had been proved and that the lifetime ban was just.

The charges were brought after a special meeting of the Caribbean Football Union in Trinidad on May 11 last year arranged to hear Hammam while on the campaign trail.

According to a FIFA ethics committee report, witnesses said after Hammam's speech, then FIFA vice-president Jack Warner instructed delegates to go to a room to pick up gifts - these turned out to be brown envelopes each containing 40,000 US dollars in cash.

According to the witnesses, Warner told delegates that Hammam 'was the actual source of the money', the report states. Warner resigned from all football activities in June after being charged with bribery.

Hammam pulled out of FIFA presidential contest and Sepp Blatter was re-elected unopposed.

After his lifetime ban, Hammam - who spearheaded Qatar's successful bid for the 2022 World Cup - insisted he would never stop fighting to clear his name.

“I will not rest no matter what tactical delays, forgery or bias are put against me. I will continue my battle until I prove my innocence and that my suspension was a political decision and an absolute abuse of power to deprive me of my right to contest for FIFA presidency.”

The CAS hearing is expected to last for two days with the decision being announced within the next month.

Hammam has also gone to CAS to try stop the Asian Football Confederation replacing him as president.

China's Zhang Jilong was appointed as acting AFC president last summer but the confederation must wait one year from the date of Bin Hammam's provisional ban - May 29 - before holding an election to replace him. - Mail.

The best.......

Senarai penerima anugerah nasional.

Olahragawan Kebangsaan - Lee Chong Wei (Badminton)
Olahragawati Kebangsaan - Pandelela Rinong (Terjun)
Pasukan Lelaki Kebangsaan - Memanah : 
Cheng Chu Sian
Khairul Anuar Mohamad
Haziq Kamaruddin
Pasukan Wanita Kebangsaan - Renang :
Katrina Ann Abdul Hadi
Png Hui Chuen
Lee Zhien Huey
Yeo Pei Ling
Tan May Mei
Mandy Yeap Mun Xin
Tasha Jane Taher Ali
Gan Zhen Yu
Lee Yhing Huey
Emanuelle Mah Thil Da
Olahragawan Paralimpik Kebangsaan - Allahyarham Muhamad Salam
Sidik (Memanah)
Olaharagawati Paralimpik Kebangsaan - E.Hemaladevi (Olahraga)
Jurulatih Lelaki Kebangsaan - Syed Mohd Hussaini Syed Mazlan (Berbasikal)
Jurulatih Wanita Kebangsaan - Rosniza Abu Bakar (Gimrama)
Anugerah Kepimpinan Sukan - Kee Yong Wee (Wushu)
Anugerah Khas - Shaharudin Jaffar (Berbasikal)

Kenyataan TSAM

13hb April 2012 – Kuala Lumpur

UNTUK SIARAN SEGERA
KENYATAAN AKHBAR OLEH
TAN SRI DATUK SERI PANGLIMA ANNUAR BIN HJ. MUSA

SOKONGAN DAN GALAKAN YANG SAYA TERIMA BARU‐BARU INI DARI KOMUNITI BOLASEPAK AMAT MEMBERANGSANGKAN. KENYATAAN DULI YANG TERAMAT MULIA TENGKU ABDULLAH TIMBALAN PRESIDEN FAM BARU‐BARU INI BAHAWA APA PALING PENTING ADALAH MASA DEPAN PEMBANGUNAN BOLASEPAK DI MALAYSIA MENCERMINKAN DEDIKASI DAN KOMITMEN DYTM TENGKU KE ARAH KEMAJUAN SUKAN BOLASEPAK DI NEGARA INI.

SAYA AMAT BERBESAR HATI BAHAWA SUMBANGAN SAYA KEPADA SUKAN BOASEPAK TELAH MENDAPAT PENGIKTIRAFAN DYTM TENGKU DAN DENGAN HORMATNYA MENERIMA TAWARAN DYTM TENGKU UNTUK MENJADI PENGANTARA UNTUK MENAMANTKAN KEBUNTUAN INI.

SAYA TETAP MENGHORMATI KEPUTUSAN JAWATANKUASA DISIPLIN DAN PROSEDUR FAM TETAPI SAYA PERCAYA JIKA DYTM TENGKU ABDULLAH, DENGAN PENGALAMAN YANG MENDALAM DYTM TENGKU DI FAM, AFF, AFC DAN JUGA FIFA, DAPAT MELIHAT BAHAWA ADA KEMUNGKINAN SUATU PENYELESAIAN ALTERNATIF DAPAT DICAPAI, SAYA AMAT BERBANGGA UNTUK BERKERJASAMA DENGAN DYTM TENGKU UNTUK KEBAIKAN BOLASEPAK MALAYSIA.

ADALAH MENJADI HARAPAN SAYA BAHAWA TAWARAN DYTM TENGKU DITERIMA OLEH MASYARAKAT DAN KOMUNITI BOLASEPAK NEGARA INI SEBAGAI LANGKAH POSITIF YANG MENCERMINKAN KEWIBAWAAN DYTM TENGKU SEBAGAI PEMIMPIN.

SAYA PERCAYA BAHAWA KITA HARUS BERKERJASAMA DENGAN PIMPINAN AFIRMATIF SEDEMIKIAN DAN AMAT BERBANGGA UNTUK BERKERJASAMA DENGAN DYTM TENGKU KE ARAH KEMAJUAN TANPA MENGIRA BATASAN.

PERJALAN KE ARAH KEMAJUAN ADALAH JALAN YANG PANJANG DAN MENDUGA DAN SAYA AMAT BERBANGGA KERANA BERPELUANG UNUTK BEKERJASAMA DENGAN DYTM TENGKU UNTUK MENGEKALKAN INSTITUSI INI SEBAGAI TONGGAK KEMAJUAN BOLASEPAK DI NEGARA MALAYSIA.

DENGAN SEMANAGAT 1FAM, SAYA INGIN MENGUCAPKAN TERIMA KASIH KEPADA DYTM TENGKU ATAS TAWARAN DYTM TENGKU UNTUK MENJADI PENGANTARA DI DALAM KEBUNTUAN YANG
DIALAMI.

SAYA JUGA INGIN MENGAMBIL PELUANG INI UNTUK MENEGASKAN KOMITMEN
BERTERUSAN SAYA KEPADA SUKAN BOLASEPAK DI KELANTAN DAN MALAYSIA.

How about it?

Manchester United defeated Wigan 1-0 and Manager Alex Ferguson feels his team is ready to win the league for the 20th time. Good for them.

While watching the match I noticed that technology has become an important part of football. The referee and his officials use gadgets to communicate, hopefully with themselves, and the team officials are also wired for some reason. Good for them and also the company the manufactures them.

How about moving a few steps ahead? Maybe a microphone (with a stand) be placed at the technical box for both the coaches to shout instructions to their players and this can be connected to the sound system at the stadium for that the fans can hear!

Then football will have great entertainment value, possibly drawing sponsors from wrestling. How about it? No.....  The coaches also will be to go some special courses on how to say the things to attract the crowd. How about it?

In some parts of the world, astonishing scores leave fans wondering who actually won the match which they just saw - the pool, the runner, the team of someone else.

Thank God in Malaysia we do not have problems like this because we have bloggers who would expose such happenings.

A few months before I left the newspaper scene, a top local athletics coach said this to me: "Athletes are already jumping, running and throwing at their best. Maybe in future steroids, should be allowed and we can measure achievements by how well an athlete combines this ability with proper usage of steroids"

Well, maybe in athletics, the tournament director can be give a mike for running, jumping and throwing commentary to entertain the crowd. Maybe the the crowd will come and tickets sales will be tremendous. But, please be careful, some might have extra entertainment by selling old tickets!

How about it? Just some thoughts this April morning. I have good friend who was actively involved in athletics, cycling and some other sports. He always says: "If not, why not."

Folks, will start posting actively again...in this blog. Time to laugh..

Philippines on the move

The Philippines are the biggest mover in ASEAN where they have improved to148th in the latest rankings released by FIFA yesterday. Coming in third at the AFC Challenge Cup finals recently gave the Philippines eight points to better their previous placing. Vietnam are still the best ranked team in ASEAN at 97 in the world moving up a rung from 98 where they have replaced Thailand as the finest team in the region. Current ASEAN champions Malaysia slipped to 156 as former champions Singapore also moved down to 158.
CURRENT FIFA RANKINGS FOR ASEAN TEAMS
 97 - Vietnam ; 141 - Thailand ; 148 - Philippines; 151 - Indonesia; 156 - Malaysia; 158 - Singapore; 173 - Cambodia; 173 - Myanmar; 175 - Laos; 202 - Brunei; 204 - Timor Leste

Malaysia vs Arsenal again

Arsenal FC is returning to Kuala Lumpur this summer to play against the Malaysian XI on July 24^that the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

The announcement follows Arsenal’s visit to Malaysia last summer after a gap of 12 years when they received a rapturous reception from enthusiastic Malaysian fans.

The game against the Malaysian XI will kick-off a three match tour of Asia which will include games in Beijing and Hong Kong.

“Malaysia is truly privileged to have Arsenal here two years in a row,” said Tengku Abdullah Ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, FAM Deputy President in Subang, Tuesday (10/4/12). “Arsenal is a big club and they have a world class manager who believes in their players and their football and that’s why they are one of the top teams in the English Premier League.

“Last year 55,000 fans turned up to watch the Gunners in action and everyone enjoyed it so much. I am sure Arsenal will draw another bumper crowd this time around.

"Our appreciation also goes out to ProEvents for making this happen. They are a trusted partner of FAM and they have been working hard to promote Malaysia as the No. 1 football hub in Asia,” added Tengku Abdullah

Arsenal’s Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Everyone associated with Arsenal is very excited to be visiting Malaysia again.

“We had a fantastic reception in Malaysia last year and we are all looking forward to visiting this great country and meeting its wonderful people again in July.”

Details of the match were announced at a press conference attended by Arsenal’s Marketing Director, Angus Kinnear, Communications Director, Mark Gonnella and Julian Kam, CEO of ProEvents Group, the sole and exclusive tour organiser of the Arsenal Asia Tour 2012 - Malaysia.

“What better way to celebrate our 20 years in the football business than by bringing Arsenal to Malaysia again?” said Julian Kam. “It’s been such a pleasure and honour to have been able to work closely with Tengku Abdullah and FAM and make Malaysia a popular place to be for all the top teams in the world.

“Arsenal needs no introduction here. This will be our 3^rd tour with them. They will be showcasing their full 1^st team squad for the new season so it will be a fantastic opportunity for all the fans to watch them live in action, not only in Malaysia but also from neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam.” Said Julian Kam, CEO of ProEvents Group.

Further details about the match and ticketing details will be announced at a later date.

War against bookies

Malaysian police Thursday (5 /04/12) busted what is believed to be one of the world's largest football betting syndicates and arrested more than 100 foreigners in an upscale residential resort in Kajang, 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur.

Police raided six bungalows the online syndicate had rented as betting dens following a tip-off for suspected drug production at the houses, Xinhua reported.

Police seized several landline phones, although they found no illicit drugs at the bungalows.

Police said the arrested suspects, aged between 20 and 40 were foreigners from several Asian countries hired as bookies by the syndicate.

Police said Malaysians may be involved in the racket.

Myanmar U22 trains in Korea

The Myanmar national Under-22 side will be heading to South Korea later this month for training in preparation for the AFC U22 Asian Cup qualifiers that will be played in June this year.

For the qualifiers Myanmar, who recently signed Park Seong Hwa as the new chief coach, have been placed in Group G where they will be up against South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines .

While in South Korea, the 26-member strong squad has arranged to play five friendly matches against club sides.

In the meantime, Stefan Hansson has been re-appointed as the Technical Director of the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) following a closed door meeting with U  Zaw Zaw, the president of the MFF.

Hansson, who had led Myanmar to the bronze at the SEA Games 2011 in Jakarta last year, had earlier resigned from his post as MFF Technical Director due to some misunderstanding.