From Ghazalie Abdullah

Conventional wisdom says there is no leg for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to stand on after the findings of Fifa’s appeal committee. However, that’s the wrong view to take.

The real question is how to turn an unfavourable Fifa ruling into a controlled, countrywide system reset – legally, politically, and operationally – whether or not FAM wins the appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)?

Let’s look at the facts. Fifa’s appeal committee has since confirmed the sanctions against FAM and seven players (350,000 Swiss francs fine for FAM; 12-month bans and fines for the players). FAM has indicated it would take the matter to CAS once it receives the written grounds, which it now has.

An independent investigation, led by former chief justice Raus Sharif, is ongoing. These are official frameworks, not rumours. Meanwhile, oversight by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is also relevant.

A top-tier strategist wouldn’t fixate on winning or losing. They’d pursue a three-track approach:

Track 1: CAS as scalpel, not sword

CAS is a rules court, not a political theatre. Here, you are examining whether Fifa accurately applied standards of eligibility, evidence, and proportionality; not re-litigating Malaysian citizenship policy.

Demand guidance to loosen evidentiary requirements on member associations in the context of conflicting civil registries across jurisdictions. Demand clearly-defined procedures to serve as a template for historical diaspora vetting.

Whether you win or lose, you gain binding guidance for the region; a solid return on investment.

Track 2: Let the remedy be apparent

The real issue the public has is not just potential document fraud, but confidence in the controls.

Create a public compliance dashboard in 60 days – eligibility workflow, audit check points, multi-jurisdiction verification steps, and sign-off accountability. Require dual-track verification, including documentary and registry checks, red-teaming in heritage cases, and immutable audit trails. Place the FAM committee on a strict disclosure schedule for interim findings and corrective actions.

Visibility transforms the narrative from “cover-up” to “clean-up”.

Track 3: Football diplomacy (from accused to judge)

Stop treating Fifa as an enemy, but as the co-author of Malaysia’s reform blueprint.

Ask for a monitored remediation programme, with clearly-marked goals – training of eligible employees and procedures for checking over documents and conducting spot-checks. Pilot an Asean eligibility framework for wider adoption.

This reframes Malaysia from “rule breaker” to “rule maker”, mitigating reputational risk regardless of CAS’s ruling.

Now, re-evaluate the optics. The media narrative is that FAM is reckless and the CAS route is hopeless theatre. But if CAS is the legal lane, the governance dashboard is the public lane, and Fifa remediation is the diplomatic lane. The story changes – Malaysia demonstrates accountability in print.

Even sceptical headlines must acknowledge concrete reforms, not just rhetoric.

Execution rules of the road ahead

Argue proportion, not innocence. If the documents had something wrong, say so. The issue, therefore, becomes a legal one – were Fifa’s sanctions balanced against process failures and player reliance? That’s winnable ground, or at least ground for calibrated reduction, even if the core findings are sound.

Separate players from the process. Shield athletes who behaved based on approvals, then admit institution failures. That fits with CAS’s instincts, fairness-wise, and does not excuse lapses in governance.

Time-box everything. Release a 90-day reform calendar, along with owners’ names, audit checkpoints, and public updates after each milestone. The speediest way to restore the shine is by turning time into your control system.

Invite scrutiny before it arrives. Meet monthly with media and fan groups; publish the verification playbook once approved. Transparency itself is a strategy.

Let’s be blunt. If you skip CAS altogether, you may please the gallery today; but you lose the opportunity to secure jurisprudential clarity that has the potential of saving Malaysia’s long-term diaspora strategy.

If you go to CAS without the governance and diplomacy tracks, you are reinforcing every negative stereotype. The advanced play is CAS + compliance + collaboration – at the same time.

This is how you stop playing “not to lose” and start creating advantage from a crisis you didn’t cause. You can lose the CAS battle but still win the larger war – standards, systems, and stature. This is what top CEOs optimise for.

Ghazalie Abdullah is a three-term past president of the Malaysian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.