Malaysian prince Tunku Ismail quits as FA president

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the eldest son of Sultan Ibrahim Ismail and the first in line of succession to the throne of Johor, left his position as president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) on Thursday .

Malaysia dropped three places in the FIFA ranking

In a statement posted on the FAM Facebook page, the Johor crown prince said that, despite serving for only a year, it was time to leave football, citing Malaysia’s retrocession in the FIFA ranking as the main reason.

“Recently, the national team’s ranking fell three places and this is a very big failure. With that being said, I think it is time that president of FAM leave football. Thank you for everything and it has been an honour to me to serve Malaysian Football. Good luck,” Tunku Ismail said.

Malaysia drops down FIFA ranking

The latest FIFA ranking shows Malaysia national football team ranked 178 in the 211-nation organization. When Tunku Ismail took over FAM a year ago, the national team was ranked 175.

Cooperation with LaLiga

Despite the recoil in the rankings, Tunku Ismail’s achievements are considerable. One of his greatest accomplishments as FAM president, was to establish a long term plan for local football with cooperation of LaLiga.

“Ever since I took up the post of FAM president, I have restructured local football, lured in sponsors to help contribute to football in the country and prepared a long-term plan for the local football with the cooperation of LaLiga,” Tunku Ismail said.

No announcement has yet been made about Tunku Ismail’s successor.