KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must establish a clear roadmap for the 2030 World Cup-2032 Asian Cup qualifying campaign, with the ageing national squad making it urgent to plan for the next generation, says analyst Datuk Richard Scully.
With the national team's average age at 32.5 years, Scully said the FA of Malaysia (FAM) and Malaysian Football League (MFL) need to work together to build a stronger player pool instead of relying on short-term fixes.
The challenge, he noted, is creating a clear pathway from youth football to the senior squad, ensuring promising players gain enough competitive exposure to handle international football.
"The M-League's heavy reliance on foreign imports has limited opportunities for young Malaysians. The league needs to be restructured to ensure clubs give emerging players meaningful playing time," Scully said.
"We can argue that younger players can play in the lower leagues, but it is not the right platform for them to improve due to the lower intensity and wider gap compared to the international level.
"We need to make an Under-23 slot compulsory in the M-League. A team should field at least one Under-23 player on the pitch so they can gain valuable top-flight experience."
Scully said MFL should collaborate with FAM's technical director on a comprehensive development plan that identifies potential long-term prospects and outlines their preparation programme.
Malaysia's Under-20 squad, who qualified for the 2027 Under-20 Asian Cup in China, could form part of that project, with Scully stressing the need to nurture young talent and provide a direct pipeline into senior international football.
The squad, guided by Shukor Adan, emerged as one of the seven best runners-up after collecting two points from draws against Indonesia and Australia in the qualifying round in Laos last month.
However, developing the next generation must go hand in hand with resolving the senior team's head coaching situation, appointing a full technical team, and giving the coach sufficient time to execute the plan, Scully added.
Malaysia, currently led by interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe, finished third in the recent FIFA-Asean Cup after defeating Vietnam 1-0 in the third-place playoff at the Gelora Bung Karno on Oct 5.
With the head coach position still unconfirmed by the national body, Scully stressed that whoever takes the helm must be given ample support and patience.
"We tend to sack coaches after just a few matches. We have to understand that friendly matches are part of the broader preparation process," said the former Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (FCAM) vice-president.
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