I have been harping about the need for top-notch football facilities in Malaysia for years and sadly, things don't seem to be changing any time soon. Excuses are all we hear. Thread 1/11

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) is attempting to introduce stricter regulations for football fields, including the type of grass, as a start to having better facilities in the country, like how it is implemented in Thailand and recently Indonesia.

Thread 2/11

Football fields are crucial to ensure the game can be played to a high standard, and there for it should be a priority for all clubs. Thread 3/11

Yet teams don't seem ready for this change, providing excuses such as the stadiums are owned by state governments and to implement changes, the state governments are required to go through a tender process that takes too much of time. Thread 4/11

This is the problem when the stadiums are owned by the state government. We are the only league in the world where MFL has to come out with funds to maintain the pitch. Thread 5/11

MFL can allocate funds but the teams are unable to act on it immediately because it still has to go through the red tape. Thread 6/11

As chairman of MFL, I am embarrassed about the facilities, especially when I look at our neighbouring countries Indonesia and Thailand. Football clubs in these countries have at the very least a football pitch in tip-top condition. Thread 7/11

Here, many stadiums don't even have sprinklers for the pitch and rely on hoses instead to water the grass. Thread 8/11

It's the same for training fields. Some teams don't even have one and rely on public fields. Players end up having to bath from a regular tap instead of a shower. Players are left to change in and out of their outfits in an open area. Thread 9/11

Many want changes in the football scene but it remains all talk and no action. The mentality is not in accordance with the success desired. Thread 10/11

Here we (MFL) are trying to make changes but no one wants to move or act on it. HRH Major General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor Thread 11/11