When the Malaysian junior team from the National Football Development Programme won the prestigious Under 13 Iber Cup in Spain few weeks ago, many eyebrows were raised across the globe for their unbeaten run against European giants like Bayern Munich, Spain, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Sporting Lisbon. It was a remarkable feat. Ever since local football fans have been showering the boys with praise. Will they spark Harimau Malaya’s long awaited revival or will all this hype become their undoing? Today we explore how we might sensibly build on their recent success.

This is a report by Shawn Tanis.