The Kelantan government will hold a meeting with Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) on Jan 1, 2017, to resolve the financial turmoil sweeping the state's football governing body to allow The Red Warriors to continue to compete in the Malaysian League (M-League) next year.

State Local Government, Housing, Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Fattah Mahmood said during the meeting, the state government would analyse the outcome of Kafa's extraordinary congress to be held on Dec 29.

"We want to know what the real issue is because we are in the dark as there are no state government's representative in Kafa. We are not convinced that this crisis is simply due to funding issues, there may be other issues," he told reporters after the state executive council meeting at the Kota Darul Naim Complex here, Wednesday.

Abdul Fattah said that football was one of the major sports in Kelantan, and the state government was always supportive of its development.

"We have placed high expectations on Kafa to take positive steps to ensure that Kelantan can continue competing in the M-League next season," he said.

He said the state government also hoped that the extraordinary congress would bring change to Kafa, mainly in terms of being fully managed by football professionals.

The media had previously reported that Kafa needed about RM15 million to run the team next season, and it was understood that the association only had RM800,000 in hand, contributed by small-scale sponsors.

A final decision on whether Kelantan will withdraw from the Malaysian League for next season will also be made at the extraordinary congress.

-- BERNAMA