30/09/2026
Budget 2027: Invest in Grassroots Sports, Build a Stronger Nation
Grassroots sports are where Malaysia’s sporting journey truly begins — on community fields, school grounds and local tournaments where children get their first opportunity to compete, learn and believe in themselves.
As the Government prepares Budget 2027, the conversation should not be limited to how much more money can be allocated to sports. The bigger question is: Are we building a funding system that allows grassroots organisations to keep delivering, grow their programmes and reach more communities?
Budget 2026 provided RM20 million for the Dana Sukan Komuniti, alongside RM584.9 million for broader sports development, including high-performance programmes, preparations for the 2027 SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games, and the maintenance and upgrading of sports facilities.
These investments matter. But at the grassroots level, funding is only meaningful when organisations can access it at the right time and use it effectively.
Many smaller sports organisations operate on limited cash reserves with programmes driven largely by volunteers, coaches, teachers and part-time personnel. When funding depends heavily on organisations spending first and claiming later, valuable resources can become tied up — affecting the number of programmes they can run and the communities they can serve.
We need to change the way we think about grassroots sports funding.
Budget 2027 should create greater continuity for programmes that have already demonstrated results rather than making organisations restart the funding process every year.
Successful grassroots initiatives should also have a clear pathway to scale. If a programme works in one community the next question should be how we can help bring that model to another district, another state and eventually more communities across Malaysia.
We should also invest in the people who keep grassroots sports moving.
Volunteers are the backbone of community sport but sustainable development requires stronger administrative capacity. Supporting dedicated community sports coordinators could help organisations manage programmes consistently, develop partnerships, support coaches and volunteers and reach more young people.
MIFA: More Than Tournaments — Building Participation
Our experience at the Malaysian Indian Football Association (MIFA) gives us a clear view of what grassroots sports can achieve.
Over the past four years, MIFA has organised more than 10 grassroots tournaments bringing together over 15,000 players, coaches, teachers, management personnel and volunteers.
Behind every tournament are hundreds of hours of preparation, coordination and volunteer effort. More importantly behind every player is a young person being given an opportunity — to participate, compete, develop discipline and discover their potential.
That is the real value of grassroots sports.
It is not simply about producing the next national athlete. It is about creating healthier communities, developing confident young people, strengthening social connections and ensuring that every child has an opportunity to experience sport.
Budget 2027 is an opportunity to make grassroots funding work better.
We should move from a system that primarily asks, “How much can we allocate?”
to one that also asks:
“How many communities can we reach?”
“How many programmes can we sustain?”
“How many young people can we give an opportunity to?”
For grassroots sports, impact should not end when the grant ends.
We need funding that is accessible, timely, sustainable and capable of supporting proven programmes to grow.
Invest in the people on the ground. Invest in programmes that work. Invest in communities. Invest in the future of Malaysian sport.
BUDGET 2027: INVEST IN GRASSROOTS SPORTS, BUILD A STRONGER NATION.
Sri
MIFA Vice President
