KUALA LUMPUR, 31 December- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today announced the appointment of former Canada national player, Robert Douglas Friend, also known as Rob Friend, as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the national football team.

Friend, who will turn 44 in January, brings brings his extensive experience as a professional football player and manager, in empowering Harimau Malaya.

Friend has represented clubs such as Moss FC and Molde FK in Norway; Borussia Monchengladbach, Hertha Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1860 Munich in Germany; and LA Galaxy in the United States in 2014.

At the international level, he earned 32 caps for the Canadian national team, starting in 2003 and ending in 2011.

After retiring as a player in 2014, Friend turned to football management and administration.

He co-founded the Canadian Premier League (CPL). Under his leadership, the league’s valuation grew from USD 0 to USD300 million within six years.

Friend also previously held the positions of CEO at Pacific FC and President at Vancouver FC, two clubs that compete in the CPL.

This experience is expected to have a major impact in managing the national team program, especially the national senior and U-23 squads.

He will officially commence his duties at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya in January 2025,with the vision of building a stronger national team through a new organizational structure that is more efficient and of higher quality.