Football is one of the oldest games developed by men. Games are created in order to bring amusement to men. There are so many games being developed by men and among the most popular game ever developed by men is football. Everyone in the world loves watching a football games particularly when it involves competition between countries. A football game emerges from a mere amusement game, to a game that provides jobs opportunities to thousands of peoples. Football games have become one of the greatest industries in modern times. Nowadays, everyone in the world, particularly in the west is mad with football. In the west, a player may be bought even with the price of millions of dollars. Football games have become a highly valuable game because of its popularity among the masses. Its popularity among the masses makes football games a very lucrative business and a football player being paid with a very high salary. When a football player is paid with a very high salary, playing football at that level has become a profession.

All countries including Malaysia have their own football team. Football is one of the sport events in all international sports meeting and one was during the last South East Asian Games or SEA Games. The last SEA Games was held in Indonesia and the venues of the Game were in Palembang and Jakarta. During the Game, Malaysian national football team met with Indonesia football team in the final and it was played in Jakarta. It was an invigorating game and everyone both Indonesians and Malaysians were being choked to their throat waiting for the result of the game. Which team will wins? This is the question lingering in all the mind of the football fans in both countries. Indonesians simply want to win and similarly Malaysians would like the game to be won by their team. Since the game was played in Jakarta, Indonesia, there were thousands of Indonesians came to Gloria Bung Karno Stadium to give support to their team. Except for the few hundreds of Malaysians watching the game, the rest were Indonesians who madly wanted their Indonesia team to won the game. However at the end, Allah has made the Malaysians team to win the game, it was indeed a great moment of pleasure and excitement to all Malaysians in general, and Malaysians football’s fans in particular.
When our football team that beat Indonesia 5-4 with penalty goals in SEA Games Final 2011 met with the football team of Japan, Syria and Bahrain, our football team lost all the three games. Why we lost all the three games? I do not think it is a coincidence or bad luck. Why we lost with the teams from the northern part of the world? Is it because the teams are from the northern hemisphere? According to historians, peoples of the northern part of the hemisphere who are strong and well built pushed the weaker to the southern hemisphere. Malaysians and Indonesians are the peoples of the southern hemisphere. In my opinion, one of the most important factors that made us lost the game is because of our athletes’ bodies are not as well built as they are. The stamina of our athletes is much lower than the stamina of their athletes. As I can remember, since I was young until now, I had never heard Malaysians football team ever wins in any football game of world standard. In my opinion, in sports we are not only competing in our skills but also in on our strength. In order to win in any football game of international standard, our football players must have both the skills and the stamina of international standard. In games such as football, we must not only have good skills but also speed and stamina. In order to have speed and stamina our football players must have a very healthy body. In order to have skills, our football players must have a good training from a good football coach and in the environment of skill players. A footballer needs to run around the field chasing after the ball for nearly 90 minutes. Without a very healthy body, a person will not have the stamina to run around the field for 90 minutes. When we had the game with Bahrain, we were leading initially with two to nil but towards the end of the game, Bahrain overtook us with three to 2. Although initially we were on the lead, yet at the end we lost the game. It was not a coincident or we were unlucky. There were reasons why we lost the game. In my opinion, although our football team had skill and good teamwork but our team is lack of bodily strength and stamina to complete the game in 90 minutes. What I have observed in our players compared to Bahrain’s players is that our players became exhausted towards the end of the game and they were no longer able to play the game with full strength. Why our Malaysian football team has never made it either to the Olympic or to the world cup? It is wrong to say that we are at the bottom because we were destined to be there. Allah has destined us to be at the lower level because of our own wrongdoing. There are reasons why Allah has destined us to be at that level. Inspite of so many peoples in Malaysia playing football and so many football tournaments in the country, we still cannot produce even one football player of world standard. The case is not only in football but also in many other games except badminton. In order to become a country with excellent performance in sport and other fields in the world, we must drive the entire Malaysians to the path of achieving performance of world standard.

We spend so much money on sports because we want to promote our country to the world. Whenever there are sports events of international standard there will be crowds of people from all over the world watching the sports. When we are good only in badminton, the crowds of peoples in the world watching the badminton game is much lesser than the football. In order to promote Malaysia to the world, Malaysia must have a world-class football team. Malaysian football team must be equipped with skill of the world players and excellent bodily health that can sustain the stamina of playing with world-class football team. I do not think it is impossible for Malaysia to have a football team of world class like Japan, China and Korea. Japan, Korea and China used to be not very good with football but now their football teams have reached the world standard. Our disadvantage is only our body size and stamina. In order to increase our body size and to increase our stamina, all our football players must have a very healthy body. In order to have a healthy body, our athletes must take great care about their health.Good health means good bowel .All our athletes must take care about the health of their bowel of. In order to obtain good bowel our athletes must be stress free, eat healthy foods, which are cook in a healthy ways. Our athletes must not eat the foods that hazardous to health, must not smoke cigarettes or drink intoxicating drinks. None of our athletes should eat fried and oily foods. The foods of our athletes must be cooked either boil, steam or roasted. They must drink plenty of plain water and take mineral supplements and good bacteria to improve their bowel movement and digestion system.

If Malaysia is really going for world supremacy in sports, Malaysia must embark on a program making her citizens healthy and skilful. In order to become the champion in all sports events athletes must have three things; healthybody, skill and positive mind set and belief. Even to become the world fastest sprinter, one needs all the three attributes. Malaysian athletes have never been qualified to run in the final 100 meters event during any Olympic games in the past. Are we, as Malaysians will forever become the spectators to the event? On the other hand, one day Malaysians will also become among the fastest sprinter in the world. What are the specialities of the Americans and the Jamaicans that enable them to win the 100 metres sprint race during the Olympic game? Why not many nations can produce such a runner? I still remember once upon a time, China and Greek did produce athletes that can challenge the Americans on 100 metres events in the Olympic. Malaysians with positive mental outlook as advised by Tun Dr Mahathir should say “Insya Allah, Malaysia boleh”. Malaysian government should find ways on how to make Malaysians one day to become the fastest men in the world. Now, we are unable to do it, because our body size is small and we are not well built. Malaysians eats more carbohydrate and less protein and because of that, their body size is small. Naturally, with such small body size, we cannot run as fast as the Americans and the Jamaicans although we may have the same skill as them. In order for Malaysians to become well built as their competitors in the west, they must change the way they eat, the food that they eat, the way they cook their foods and the way they think and believe. We are what we eat and we are what we think and believe. Our body cannot become well built only by eating rice and salt. Malaysians will have a tall and well-built body if they eat more protein and less carbohydrates as the westerners do.Malaysians must be encouraged to eat more protein and less carbohydrate. In other word, Malaysians must take their lunch and dinner with only one cup of rice but with plenty of fish, meat or chicken and some fresh vegetables .This is very much in contrary with the present eating habit of most Malaysians. Currently most Malaysians will eat a plate full of rice with only small amount of chicken, meat or fish and small amount of vegetables. We cannot spend money only on training but also on their foods and supplements.

Our athletes must also be trained to have correct framework of mind and belief when they are entering any competitions. In order to achieve that, our athletes must undergo mental therapy for some months. Sports are the mean to promote Malaysia and to make all Malaysians of different races to mingle and to know each other. Everybody loves sport and it is easy to make all the races to mix in sports. Not everyone is religious and when there is a religious gathering, only the religious minded ones will gather. With sport such as football, both the religious and the non-religious person will be gathered together. We cannot make the Muslims to be collected with the non-Muslims in the mosques or in the churches or in the temples but we can collect all the peoples, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims in the stadium watching the football game. All peoples irrespective whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims love the game of football .We should promote football to become the national as well as international game because football is the best mean to be used in order the make peoples of different races to mingle or to interact with each other. Malaysia should develop a football team that can become among the best team in the world. Once we can do that, Malaysia will be a well-known country in the world and this will facilate our effort to market all our products to the world.

We have many football clubs and teams representing 14 states in the country. Every year we have many football tournaments and one of the most popular is the Malaysian Cup football tournament. Currently our achievement is only to become the Malaysian cup champion and nothing higher than that. Now we have to move forward to become the best football team in the world. We have to change our strategy toward making our peoples and country to become excellent in sports in the world. We must work hard toward making Malaysian football team to enter the final in the world cup football tournament and finally to become the champion in both the world cup tournament and the Olympic Games. I hope a time will come when Malaysia, a small country in the east, yet well known in the whole world because Malaysia is the champion in the world soccer tournament and the Olympic game. Many countries become famous because of war or because of natural disaster, but Malaysia will become famous and well known in the world because she has the best football team in the world. In order to achieve that, Malaysia has to embark on a major scale campaign of changing the lifestyles of all Malaysians. Malaysians must eat the correct food, cook their food the correct way and to always think and belief positively. Malaysians at all ages level and particularly the young group are to be encouraged to get involved in all the various games and to become excellent in each of the game that they are involved in. Ministry of sport must become a ministry of its own and its main function is only to makes Malaysians to become excellent in sports at international level. Although Malaysia is a small country but when Malaysians have a mindset and belief of world class Malaysians will become the champions in all the fields of human endeavours in the world. Malaysians must never say that we cannot do it or we cannot become world champions. But Malaysians must always say “Allah with us we will be able to become world champion” or in Malay “Allah bersama saya, saya boleh menjadi Juara di dunia”. When we decide to do something we Malaysians must say, “Allah will do it to our best and we will becomes the best in the world”.

Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
March 2012
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre