00:00Two national football legends have dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's
00:05dream of Malaysia hosting and competing in the FIFA World Cup as unrealistic, with former
00:11star striker James Wong calling it coffee shop talk.
00:15Wong, who scored the goal that secured the national team's qualification for the 1980
00:20Moscow Olympics, said Malaysia is nowhere near ready to stage football's biggest tournament.
00:26He said the country should rebuild the game from the ground up by developing stronger
00:31domestic leagues and grassroots programs to identify and train players from a young age.
00:38Wong noted that countries like Vietnam and Myanmar have made significant progress in recent
00:43years, while Malaysia has stagnated.
00:46He warned that a World Cup would demand world-class stadiums, transport networks and the ability
00:52to manage hundreds of thousands of fans, infrastructure Malaysia simply does not have.
00:59Wong suggested the country prove its capability first by hosting smaller regional and youth
01:05events.
01:06Tough-tackling centre-back Santok Singh, who represented the country with distinction from 1972 to 1985,
01:14was even more blunt.
01:16He said Malaysia has no business hosting the World Cup because the national team presently
01:20cannot qualify for the tournament on merit.
01:23Asked if Malaysia could qualify anytime soon, Santok's response was scathing.
01:29Not in the next 10, 20 or even 50 years, he said.
01:33Santok stressed that for now, priority must be given to reforming the Football Association
01:38of Malaysia.
01:40He also said players should wear the jersey out of love for the country as they used to in
01:45his playing days.
01:47Amradeep Gill, FMT.
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