With the World Cup fever running high, have any of us ever thought what if Sabah had separate membership from the Football Association of Malaysia(FAM) in the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).
It would mean that Sabah could compete for the World Cup qualifying rounds and have a shot at joining the World Cup finals. This is the same with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who are all part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain yet have separate memberships in FIFA. These countries compete separately in international tournaments.
The same also goes for the Faroe Islands, which is part of Denmark. Faroe Islands also have separate membership and therefore compete as a separate team.
Prior to the formation of Malaysia, Sabah or North Borneo as it was once known sent its own team to international athletic competitions. North Borneo even participated in the 1956 Olympics in Australia.
There may be those who think that such an arrangement would be harmful to unity. However on the contrary, such an arrangement would give Malaysian sports fans the luxury of cheering three teams, Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya. For example if Sabah qualified for the World Cup, Malayans too would be cheering for Sabah and vice versa.
It also gives the opportunity for more athletes to compete internationally. However this is not so, but imagine if it is so. It would be very colourful indeed for Southeast Asian football, or Southeast Asian sports for that matter.
This is just a thought that the North Borneo Herald would like to share with readers.
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1 comment:
FAM is under the monarchy hands, therefore those states without sultan had no says in forming their own international team.
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