Raising Our Game in Malaysia: Women players join union

The league is organized like a festival and for the rest of the year players can’t reach and maintain peak performance and fitness.

“It’s is very unstable for their careers,” Izham Ismail, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM), said. “They play only friendly games for 11 months of the year.”

Malaysia has not qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup before, and is currently ranked 90^th in the world. To help improve conditions, the player association has begun representing female players.

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The player association advises them individually on employment rights and organizes them collectively.

 “It’s a big step towards developing women’s football,” Ismail said.

There is still a long way to go but women’s football in Asia has huge untapped potential.

“The interest and commercial opportunities are massive,” Ismail said. “All stakeholders should work together to capitalize on that.”