Quo vadis, Kelantan FC?: Once the powerhouses of Malaysia football, are the Red Warriors being left for dead?

AS THE Malaysian football family ushers in the 30th anniversary of the M-League turning professional in 2024, one-time powerhouses Kelantan FC are in a precarious position.

As things stand, the former treble winners may not be part of the Super League next season. It remains to be seen if they could be the last team to complete the 14-team league, or if league operators Malaysian Football League (MFL) has other ideas.

Just over a decade ago, Kelantan FC were a phenomenal powerhouse with an ensemble of stars sweeping all silverware the domestic scene had to offer. Today the Red Warriors have become wounded soldiers, on the brink of death, staring at the possibility of being expelled from the league for failing to comply with MFL’s licensing requirements.

They have until 31 December to furnish proof of settlement of salary arrears and submit a declaration letter to prove that they have cleared all overdue payments along with the settlement of their cases with FIFA and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Abysmal on the pitch despite new investments

Just over three years ago, businessman Norizam Tukiman became the owner of Kelantan FC after buying over The Red Warriors (TRW) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the Kelantan FA (KAFA), for RM6.8 million.

The investment guru, who has interests in the food and hotel industry as well, bought the shares for RM3 million and pumped in an additional RM3.8 million to settle the club’s debts, apparently on an interest-free loan basis.

Known either as Zamsaham (Zam Stock Market) or Zamburger, Norizam forecasted his investment would turn profitable in three to five years, confident TRW would be public listed with proper governance, investment and commercialisation exercise.

Today, he has come under fire from the fans, who have resorted to using the hashtag #ZamOut on social media to tell him to vamoose.

The 6-2 defeat by Kelantan United in the final match of the Super League season last Saturday (16 December) was particularly hard to swallow for majority of the long-suffering fans. Kelantan FC have suffered the ignominy of conceding 138 goals in all competitions this year, consigning PDRM’s previous record of 75 goals conceded in 2009 into the scrapheap.

Norizam is the latest supremo of Kelantan FC to incur the wrath of the passionate Kelantan fans. Prior to this, the trending hashtag was #BibiOut, referring to Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan, whose stint as KAFA president was short-lived.

The fickle nature of the game even saw the fall from grace of the man who transformed the fortunes of Kelantan from 2007 to 2015, Tan Sri Annuar Musa. As the KAFA president, the treble victory in 2012 came under his watch, but within four years, the fans were calling for his head as the team landed into financial quagmire.

For a state that has produced successful corporate figures and entrepreneurs, Kelantan football continues to seek a sustainable formula.

Kingpins despite losing money off the pitch

To regain the support of the various stakeholders in Kelantan, Norizam has sought the assistance of Ahmad Muzakkir Hamid, an entrepreneur with banking experience.

Ahmad Muzakkir was the KAFA vice-president who was part of the association's team of negotiators in getting Norizam on board in 2020.

With Norizam taking a backseat, Ahmad Muzakkir has been bearing the brunt on all fronts, including the players’ demand for their unpaid salaries. However, he is confident of meeting MFL’s deadline, placing his trust on Norizam’s business and personal networking to salvage the team.

Before the Malaysian football league made the transition from semi-professional to fully professional in 1994, KAFA was the first state FA bold enough to venture into the world of corporatisation, albeit without much success.

KAFA outsourced the management of its elite football team to a third party in 1993, unheard of during that era. Their marriage with Ringgit Kreatif, helmed by KAFA deputy president and renowned lawyer, Zaid Ibrahim, broke new ground.

With M. Karathu lured from the cushy job of handling FAM’s first academy in Pahang, he could call upon Dimitre Kalkanov, Marko Kraljevic and Michael Roki, allied with the local talent Hashim Mustapha, Salim Mahmud at left back and Zahasmi Ismail in defence to form a team to reckon with.

Unfortunately, the concept of a corporate entity to run the team could not be successfully applied in reality. They were creative on the pitch but the management could not bring in the ringgit.

The relationship lasted only a season, sparking off a number of controversies as Ringgit Kreatif demanded compensation from KAFA as the company suffered losses to a tune of almost RM300,000 in less than a year.

Despite the unsuccessful attempt at corporatising the team, KAFA were determined to pursue the same course of action in subsequent years.

In came Kota Darulnaim (KDSB), Koperasi Kafa (Ko-Kafa) and Nusa Wangsa, but the script had the same ending to it, with KAFA getting embroiled in further financial turmoil. For a state so rich in talent, they were poor in managing their finances.

Illustrious history since the 1970s

In the 1970s, Kelantan boasted of Nik Fauzi Nik Hassan, who would have been a regular in the heart of the Malaysian defence if not for the Soh Chin Ann-Santokh Singh partnership, midfielders Wan Zawawi Wan Yusoff and Hamzah Hussein (both Olympians), Dali Omar, Mahadi Yusof and Wan Hassan Wan Ibrahim.

In the following decade, Kamaruddin Mohd Noor, Mohd Noor Yaakub and Wan Azrani Daud captured the nation's attention with their brand of football which combined speed, strength and skill. In the 1990s, Hashim and Zahasmi - both internationals - symbolised the Kelantan game.

When Hatem Souissi formed the 1997 Youth World Cup team, he built the team around three Kelantanese players, Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan, Nafuzi Zain and Nik Fadly Nik Leh.

Languishing in the old third tier FAM League in 2005, Kelantan’s fortunes were transformed as Annuar emerged as the white knight in a shining armour.

Under Annuar, KAFA outsourced the team to TRW.com Sdn Bhd. In came the late B. Satiananthan to manage the team of stars, among them Khalid Jamlus, Nor Farhan Mohamad, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, later joined by Norshahrul Idlan Talaha as they lifted the FA Cup on two occasions, the Super League title twice and the Malaysia Cup on two occasions from 2010 to 2012.

Now they are looking for another white knight to stem the downward spiral.

Quo vadis, Kelantan FC?

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