Write an article about Giving M’sians a shot to train with EPL clubs, free of charge .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6), Retain any existing tags from Muar boy Afandee Ahmed (right), with former Manchester United player and coach, Paul Scholes in 2001. (Ken Barnes Football pic)
HULU LANGAT: You’ve probably heard of the late Ken Barnes, the English footballer who played for Manchester City in the 1950s. But did you know he also played a key role in Malaysian football history?
Established as a grassroots football development programme, Ken Barnes Football Malaysia has a single mission: to bring Malaysian football back to its former glory.
Founded in 1999, this initiative sent the first Malaysian boy to train with an English Premier League club in the UK in 2001.
This was made possible through Ken’s daughter, Karen Barnes, a dance educator based here. FMT Lifestyle recently spoke with Karen during a weekly training session for youth in Hulu Langat, organised with the White Tigers FC.
“My dad, who had been at Manchester City for almost half a century, both as a player and a chief scout, was newly retired in 1999,” she recalled.
“People here were asking us whether or not Dad could lend a hand, because Malaysia had been very good at football previously, and for some reason, it had started to slide,” she said.
Karen Barnes, daughter of the late English footballer Ken Barnes, co-founded the Ken Barnes Football initiative in 1999. (Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)
Along with her partner Subramaniam Palandaram, they brought football tournaments to children all across Malaysia, guided by one core principle.
“Dad was adamant that there should be no charge for the children. He felt that once you start to ask for money, there would be a whole section of society that was eliminated.”
So, they would take a map of West Malaysia, point blindly at it, and wherever their finger landed became the next tournament location.
“We wanted to go into the rural areas. We even put the small-sided pitch on a fishing boat and took it to Pangkor island. We took it up to Cameron Highlands, where they’d never had a football tournament before,” Karen said.
She recalled a time in Beserah, Pahang, when more than 1,000 kids showed up begging to play in the tournament – many even without boots. “That stays with me as one of the times that I realised we really need to do what we’re doing.”
Leslee Nathan Jesunathan (bottom third from left), was in their last batch of Malaysian boys to train with an EPL club in the UK. (Ken Barnes Football pic)
The programme identified standout players, and watched them closely during future matches. Then, Karen’s father travelled to Malaysia to personally select those he believed were talented enough to train overseas.
And that’s how, in 2001, a 15-year-old from the historical town of Muar, Afandee Ahmad, became the first Malaysian to train at Manchester City FC.
“It was a priceless experience that really can’t be described in words. Not everyone from less privileged backgrounds can experience what we got,” Afandee told FMT Lifestyle.
Over the years, over 40 Malaysian boys were sent abroad. In the last batch was Leslee Nathan Jesunathan, now 25, a professional footballer with Bunga Raya FC. He has also played for Kelantan.
“Back in 2012, Ken Barnes Academy organised a tournament called ‘Road to England’. My school took part in that tournament and we became the champion. The next thing we know, we got to fly to the UK,” recalled Leslee. “We were there for almost 15 days, training at the Manchester United Academy.”
Co-founder of Ken Barnes Football Subramaniam Palandaram is now seeking external funding to sustain the programme. (Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)
Subramaniam, who was largely involved in organising the programme, said the overseas training made a clear impact on the boys.
“The England experience is different. It’s a total culture shock when it comes to football. They treat every training like it’s a match,” he shared, adding that once the Malaysian boys returned, several were selected to state teams.
“My dad pointed out that the talent in Malaysia was just as good as in the UK,” revealed Karen. He believed the real gap here was the lack of structured school-level football programmes to nurture young talent.
The ‘Road to London’ programme is back, starting in Hulu Langat. (Theeya Ragu @ FMT Lifestyle)
Despite making an impact in the early 2000s, the programme eventually faced a lack of financial support and took a break in 2015. Still, they remained relevant through initiatives like Footy – a contactless football programme organised during the pandemic.
Now, digging into their savings, Karen and Subramaniam have revived the programme, starting in Hulu Langat.
Hoping for external funding to sustain the programme, the duo aim to send more young Malaysians to train with EPL clubs, uplifting Malaysian football and keeping the Barnes family legacy alive here.
To support Ken Barnes Football Malaysia, contact 019-345 5115.
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