Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak hopes that the Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) and other state FAs intending to withdraw from the 2017 Malaysian Super League due to financial constraints would find a solution to their problems.

Expressing concern over the matter, Najib said all quarters involved with national football should ensure that the people's number one sport continued to thrive.

"We cannot disappoint the country's millions of football fans, especially from among the younger generation.

"Insya-Allah (God willing), with consensus and sincerity on the part of all quarters, we will be able to find a way out of this problem," he said in postings on his Facebook and Twitter accounts today.

Najib said he had asked former Kafa president Annuar Musa to help the association resolve its problems so as not to disappoint the thousands of fans of the Red Warriors.

"I understand that the problem arose following the resignation of Annuar Musa as the president," he said.

It was reported on Dec 16 that Kafa wanted to stay away from the league because it could not raise sufficient funds needed to manage the Kelantan squad in the tournament.

Besides the problem of sponsorship, Kafa is also without a president to succeed Annuar, since his resignation last month.

Yesterday, the Football Association of Selangor also indicated it might withdraw from the league due to failure to find a sponsor for the Red Giants.

- Bernama