A sentence from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's speech during yesterday's ground-breaking ceremony for FAM's new headquarters in Putrajaya took many by surprise.
An announcement of a RM10 million contribution for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) this year from the government.
The unexpected good news by the prime minister reflects the government's commitment to get football back on a good footing after the Covid-19 turmoil.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin, who was grateful for the RM10 million grant, vowed to use the money wisely.
"First of all, I extend my gratitude to the prime minister and the Malaysian government," he said.
According to Hamidin, during his earlier visit to Ismail Sabri, he had relayed how the pandemic had affected FAM financially.
"This new injection (of RM10 million) is a pleasant surprise for us.
"This sum will be for the use of the whole FAM organisation, including the national team. We will discuss with the exco on how best to distribute this to each department."
The new FAM headquarters in Putrajaya will sit on 2.43-hectare of land. To manage the construction costs of their new administrative building, FAM have partnered with One Lagoon Development to build a serviced residence that will take up half of the land.
The project is estimated to cost RM33 million but the costs will be supplemented by an allocation from the FIFA Forward Programme.
Hamidin added that FAM are close to getting a separate piece of land (13 acres) near their new headquarters for the National Training Centre. It will have several pitches, indoor and outdoor, with full facilities for the usage of the national teams.
