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The nomination of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for an AFC Award in 2026 has raised questions, given that the federation was previously embroiled in a case involving the falsification of documents for seven naturalized players an incident for which it received sanctions from FIFA. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has clarified that FAM’s inclusion on the shortlist is due to the number of applications received before the submission deadline.
The 2026 AFC Awards are scheduled to take place on November 19 at the Aksra Theatre King Power in Bangkok, Thailand. The event features awards across 19 categories, honoring players, coaches, football figures, and federations.
One category drawing particular attention is the "Member Association of the Year" (Gold level) award. FAM appears on the shortlist alongside the Football Association of Hong Kong and the All India Football Federation.
AFC General Secretary Windsor John explained that only three member associations submitted applications before the deadline. Since the category requires three candidates, FAM was automatically included on the shortlist.
In a statement cited by the New Straits Times (NST), Windsor clarified the administrative reasoning behind this:
"Only three member associations sent in their applications before the deadline, and we require three nominees for that category, so FAM was automatically shortlisted," he said.
This explanation indicates that FAM’s inclusion on the shortlist does not imply that the federation has been deemed the best. The final winner will be determined based on an evaluation against specific criteria established by the AFC.
Windsor noted that the evaluation covers various aspects, allowing each association to receive different scores across the assessed areas. Consequently, a shortcoming in one area does not automatically negate the assessment of performance in other aspects.