‘s 4-0 win over in June looked impressive from afar. But, according to ‘s world governing body, FIFA, it was achieved with seven overseas-born players using false birth certificates to claim their grandparents had been born in the country.
In September, FIFA fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) $438,000 (€377,000) and suspended the players., adding that they believe “there is no evidence to support these allegations presented by FIFA.”
The scandal has put the issue of naturalization on the front and back pages of newspapers all around a region that has taken the practice to heart.
‘Wake-up call
“It’s a wake-up call for Southeast Asia,” Sasi Kumar, a former international, told DW.
“Other nations will be thinking, ‘we have to be careful.’”
The Madrid-based sports marketer points to his own country.
“Malaysia naturalized these players so quickly but in Singapore we take time. We have been trying to get a player from [Welsh club] Cardiff [Perry Ng] and it has been almost two years.”
Ng was born in Liverpool but has a grandparent from Singapore, a family link that provides the most common path to naturalization especially as in 2008, FIFA tightened the rules for the other path. Players now have to spend five continuous years in a domestic league in order to become eligible to represent that country’s national team, an increase from the previous two after nations like Qatar had caused concerns by naturalizing a number of Brazilian players.
There are no expectations that stricter rules will be introduced by FIFA due to the Malaysian situation, however.
“It is very difficult to change the regulations so the existing rules need to be followed with checks and balances and clear documentation,” Shaji Prabhakaran, member of the Asian Football Confederation’s Executive Committee, told DW.
“It is not just about FIFA regulations but there are also different citizen regulations in each country so it is a complex situation. Clarity is key.”
Small world, big World Cup
That Malaysia rushed to find overseas talent to bring into their team is not a surprise, given that its big rival Indonesia nearly reached the 2026 World Cup, almost nine decades after its first appearance in 1938, largely thanks to naturalizing European-born players with Indonesian grandparents. The United Arab Emirates also almost qualified, with the majority of its team born overseas but having played in the country for more than five years.
Prabhakaran puts the increase in naturalizations down to increased globalization in all walks of life and also the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026, up from 32 four years ago.
“This has fueled it,” he said. “That has given more hopes to countries everywhere and more opportunities. Now, naturalization means that they can fast-track to improve their performances and quality and more countries have a chance to qualify.”
Short-term gain vs. sustainability
A strong national team that qualifies for tournaments can provide the domestic game with a boost in terms of profile, popularity and finances but too much focus on foreign talent can have a negative effect on the domestic game.
“It is clear from a sporting perspective what it does for a country, it propels them quickly,” Kumar added.
“It comes to a question as to what it does to the local league, what it does to the local players and what it does to the motivation there is to produce players.”
Finding the right balance is necessary.
“You have to work from the bottom up, that should always be the focus, you can’t just bring in better players from other countries and do nothing else,” Prabhakaran said.
“You can look to the short-term to get what you want quickly but you need to put more investment in the grassroots level. There has to be a balance.”
That seems to be the plan in Indonesia.
“They are producing good young players who are going to come through in the medium-term,” Kumar said. “So Indonesia thought, ‘let’s go top-heavy and win something, then we have a domino effect and then we phase out these European players’. Malaysia did not have a plan and it backfired.”
The identity question
There are also questions about how national teams that are filled with foreign-born players represent the people. The days of the best of one country taking on the best that another has to offer could be long gone if nations can choose players from around the world.
“Many people in Vietnam are tempted by this concept because they want to win games. They see other countries winning and want the same thing, this is human nature,” Velizar Popov, coach of Vietnamese club The Cong-Viettel, told DW.
Popov has previously been in charge of Malaysian club Kelantan and doubts the FA’s position.
“The Malaysian team that beat Vietnam, how Malaysian was it? Now we know that many of the players there had no connection the fans, nothing to do with the country. This was not a Malaysian team.”
How many will come to the parade?
This is not just confined to football. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Singapore had won just one medal, silver at the 1960 games. Then the country naturalized Chinese table tennis players Feng Tangwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu who won silver in 2008 and two bronzes in 2012. The women are responsible for half of Singapore’s historic medal haul and Kumar was charged with organizing a victory parade for the team.
“Not many people came,” he said. “The connection between the public and the team was not there.”
Yet as long as teams have success with naturalization, others will be tempted.
“When teams are winning, then fans are singing,” Kumar noted. “Football fans can be very myopic and have short-term memories. It is down to the federations to focus on long-term objectives.”
Edited by: Matt Pearson
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