SARAWAK football is in a sorry state and that’s putting it mildly. The game has not really recovered from the decline following a resounding revival, inspired by Awang Mahyan’s Ngap Sayot in the 1980s, and a spell at the zenith under the Taha Ariffin-Alan Vest management in the 1990s.

After more than a decade in the backwaters of national football, there were glimmer of hopes of a turnaround when Sarawak fought their way back to Super League in the 2006-7 season under Dato’ Gulzar Mohamad but after the department of this very fine gentleman from the helm, the team slid back to ignominy in the season that followed.

The reasons for the present moribund state of Sarawak’s football are well-known to those closely associated with it.

In the main, it can be said to be due the lack of commitment and professionalism which has created in its wake some big problems, not least of which is the fact (no matter how unpalatable) that few, if any, of the players — and frankly, the officials as well — are motivated enough to work for the betterment of the game.

Given the present apathy, culminating in the resignations of a few key Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) officials owing to the situation being untenable, nothing short of a major overhaul stands any chance of turning things around.

It is just as well the Social Development and Urbanisation Ministry has stepped in with a bold move to put in place a club-structured mechanism to manage the senior team and a visionary programme to oversee the long-term development of the game in the state in collaboration with English Division One Club Hartlepool United. The initiative — still in its infancy - will have every opportunity to grow and mature in the years ahead, starting with the next season, if not the upcoming Malaysia Cup.

Let’s face it — the FAS in the post-Taha Ariffin era has been a pale shadow of its former self, mainly due to internal problems related to finance or the lack of it. The cause of football in the state could not possibly be served with a rudderless controlling body. Although it now sounds rather trite, a revamp is in order if local football is to have any chance of revisiting the good old days when huge crowds packed the stadium to support the team during home games, and at the same time, justify the millions spent on the construction and management of the facility.

If we have football of reasonable standard, the stadium turnstiles may be kept rotating briskly and the gate collections will go a long way to looking after the players and the facilities. But the present attendance at Sarawak’s home ties is nothing to write home about - in fact, not even enough to pay for the team’s away matches.

The good news is according to Social Development and Urbanisation Minister Dato Sri William Mawan, plans have been implemented to manage the state senior team on the basis of a professional club while FAS, according to him, will assume a new role of grassroots development to ensure a steady flow of talents for the future.

However, it must be said right from the outset that it is paramount to bring in people with the knowledge and experience to manage the professional club. Seen in this light, the five-deal with Hartlepool is a step in the right direction to start the ball rolling. But professional expertise from the English Division One Club is alone no guarantee of success if the remedial measures are half-hearted or if not enough resources are committed to the task at hand.

One other pertinent point is that once the pros are assigned their roles (it is assumed the state government will underwrite the costs involved to a certain extent), they must be given a free hand, albeit within a certain timeframe, to deliver in terms of better management standards to take Sarawak football to greater heights than the present. Anything less can be construed - and rightly so - as a waste of time and money. Together with FAS, the professional managers should focus strictly on development of the game and avoid getting unduly sidetracked by petty internal distractions and bickerings.

The target should be schools and the talents spotted therein must be nurtured and groomed for national and even international competitions. Towards this end, the Under-16 League for students must be applauded although hopefully, it will not fizzle out like aerated water after a while. Indeed, the “no stamina” syndrome should be eradicated to ensure sustainability and continuity.

We can look at how the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) go about looking for and grooming talents. The association provides training for potential players under coaches who know their stuff.

So far, Malaysia has done well in badminton but the same cannot be said of football even within Asia, let alone the world at large. Asian soccer countries such as China, South Korea and Japan have produced world-class players who are plying their trade in European leagues. Plainly, we have miles and miles of catching-up to do.

True, there is no dearth of football talents in Malaysia but what good are these without proper development? Our problem is the lack of professionalism in football management which itself is contagious and can lead to, among other things, indiscipline.

If we love our football, we must support the Social Development and Urbanisation Ministry, the FAS and other private sector organisations in their collective bid to make football once again a worthy number one sport in the state.

A serious start has been made and what’s important is to see it through to fruition.