FELDA United F.C.

Felda United

Full name	Felda United Football Club
Nickname(s)	Felda Fighters [1]
Short name	FUFC
Founded	19 January 2007;17 years ago (19 January 2007)
Dissolved	2020
Owner	Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Felda United Football Club is a Malaysian football club based in Jengka, Pahang which is owned by the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (Felda). ^{[2] [3]} The club used to compete in the Malaysian football league system but withdrew from the Malaysian league competition in 2020. ^[4] Known as the "Felda Fighters" among the fans, Felda United participated in the Malaysian football league from 2007 to 2020. ^[5]

The team last played in the 2020 Malaysia Super League season, which is Malaysia's top flight league. The club was able to play in the Malaysia Super League after being crowned Malaysian second-tier or second division Malaysia Premier League champions in 2018. ^[6]

In 2020, the club made the announcement that from 2021, they will no longer participate in the Malaysian football league. A lack of financial support or funding was cited by the club's officials for making such decision to not participate in the national competition. ^{[7] [8]}

Club licensing regulations

2019 season

• This club had obtained the Football Association of Malaysia Club License to play in the 2019 Malaysia Super League season. ^[9]

History

The start

Felda United Football Club was formed on 19 January 2007 to participate in the Malaysian Football League starting with the 2007 Malaysia FAM Cup. ^[3] It was initiated by Felda and was officiated by the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak on 19 January 2007. ^[10] As football is the number one sport in Malaysia with a large number of supporters, Felda decided to jump into the industry due to the infrastructure and facilities provided on Felda land. ^[11] The club embarked their journey by making a debut in the Malaysian Football League by playing in the third-tier division league, the Malaysian FAM Cup. Now, the club is well known and supported by the country and its citizens, especially the Felda generations.

The club's tracks

The club has been one of the more consistent teams in the 2007 Malaysian FAM Cup after placing third, despite their fresh appearance in the industry. The club was promoted into the Premier League from the Malaysian FAM Cup in 2008 after only one season in the Malaysian Football League. Felda United played in the Premier League for 3 seasons and was promoted into the Super League after being champion of the 2010 Malaysia Premier League. After playing consistently in the Super League for 3 seasons, the team had a downfall where they were back in the Premier League for 2014. However, it was not the end for The Fighters as they were placed second in Premier League, promoting them back into Super League for 2015, 2016 and 2017. 2018 came with sorrow as the club was again, demoted into the Premier League as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) denied their club license as they failed to submit some documents. ^[12] In 2019, The Fighters are back to fight heads on against the Super League clubs as they are back in the league with an approved club license from FAM. ^[9]

The financial downfall

Towards the end of the 2018 season, the club had a bump on their smooth road of finance. Since September to November 2018, the club did not manage to pay the players and coaching staff in time. The club's former coach, B. Sathianathan mentioned that he exposed this issue to fight for everyone's rights in the team. ^[13] Shukor Adan represented the team to get legal consultation from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) on the overdue payment. The former captain of the team also mentioned that he has been with the club for five seasons and none of these happened before. It gave him a sour memory of his last season with the club. ^[14]

Not only that, the club had to drop most of their key players ^[15] such as Syamim Yahya, Wan Zack Haikal, Farizal Harun and all four of the club's import players had to be switched ^[16] due to financial instability. The head coach, Mohd Nidzam Jamil said the club signed brand new players for the 2019 season as the budget is tight but the club also promotes Felda United's President and Youth squads to fight in the first-tier league, the Super League ^[15] as this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for young players to fight heads on against professional and experienced senior players.

In January 2019, Felda United finally were able to pay at least a month's pay to the players and coaching staff out of three months. The club's president, Anuar Malek, said that they paid at least a month's worth of pay to show that the management is committed in trying to rectify the financial problem. ^[17] The club made a financial plan to make sure that financial issues does not come up again.

Felda United players in action wearing their home colours when competing in the Malaysia football league in 2020. The team subsequently withdrew from the Malaysia football league in 2021 after participating in the national competition for 13 years.

Withdrawal from the Malaysian football league

Following the club's decision to withdraw from the Malaysian football league competition in 2020, the club had announced that 16 staff from the team will be laid off.

In a press statement, Felda Holdings Berhad stated: "Felda wish to inform that FUFC's participation is only for the 2020 season. Starting 2021, FUFC will no longer take part in the M-League. Sixteen FUFC staff will be compensated for the termination of their services in accordance with the terms of their appointments and a notice for the handover of duties has been given to them on Sept 17, 2020. ^{[7] [8]}

Grounds

Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka from night aerial view.

Felda United's current ground is the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka, Pahang. The team officially started playing for leagues in the stadium in 2016 until now, as the stadium completed its construction in late 2015.

In their early involvement in the Malaysian Football league, they played in the Petronas Stadium in Bangi, Selangor and also the club has played some matches in Mindef Stadium in Kuala Lumpur whenever the Petronas Stadium was not available. They also played in the Petaling Jaya Stadium and Selayang Stadium in Selangor, Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka, and Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, before moving to the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium for the 2016 Malaysia Super League season and upcoming seasons.

Sponsorship

Period	Sportswear	Main Sponsor	Other Sponsor
2007	made by club	none	none
2007-08	Adidas	Celcom
2009	Kappa	Streamyx	Power Root, Felda D'Saji
2010		TM, Felda Prodata Systems
2011		Felda Prodata Systems	Felda D'Saji
2012		Felda Prodata Systems, Felda D'Saji	Felda Sawari
2013	Umbro	FGV	Felda Prodata Systems
2014	Puma	Felda	Koperasi Permodalan Felda Berhad, FGV
2015			Koperasi Permodalan Felda Berhad
2016	FBT		none
2017			none
2018		Felda, Tenera Hotel	Felda Prodata Systems, Felda D'Saji, D'Mart, AirAsia, Animasia, ATF Sport Taping
2019		Felda, Ironco, Grand Borneo
2020		Felda, Tanah Melayu Capital	none

Players

Felda United Youth Squad

The Felda United Youth consists of 2 squads of Under-21 and Under-19 players which will play for the President Cup and the Youth Cup respectively. These two cups are prominent tournaments among youngsters since its inception in the football industry of Malaysia.

Under-21 squad

No	Name	Nat.	Position	Date of Birth
Goalkeeper
22	Muhammad Amirul Hakimi Rodzan		GK	2001
25	Muhammad Danial Asraf Mohd Rani		GK	2000
30	Muhammad Hazril Azni Abdul Ghani		GK	2000
Defenders
5	Harith Marzuqi Zailaney		CB	2000
11	Noriqmal Nor Azmi		LB,LWB	2000
13	Muhammad Daniel Aiman Che Zambil		CB	2/9/99
15	Muhammad Danial Romizan		CB	8/5/2002
21	Zainal Abidin Jamil		CB	5/8/99
23	Abdul Rashid Abdul Razak		RB,RWB	2000
Midfielders
6	Muhammad Firdaus Rosli		DM, CM	2000
7	Muhammad Solihin Akmal Abdul Razak		RW, LW	2000
8	Mohamad Saiful Jamaluddin		CM	2000
12	Mohamad Daniel Haqiem Mohd Razali Abdullah		LW, LM	2000
14	Muhamad Syahir Abdul Rahman		RM, RW	2000
16	Azwan Azman		CM	1999
17	Edy Luqman Muhamad		AM, CM	2000
20	Khairul Haikal Adam		RW, RM	1999
29	Muhammad Adam Malique Daniel Ady		LW, LM	2000
Forwards
9	Muhammad Nabil Iman Muhammad Fadzil		ST	1999
10	Muhammad Haziq Man		ST,LW	2000
19	Mohammad Haizal Jine Adam		ST	2000
24	Mohamad Arrieffahmi Mohd Azam		ST	24/1/99
27	Muhammad Norazwan Mohd Amir		ST	2000

Source: ^{[18] [19]}

Under-19s

No.	Name	Nat.	Position	Date of Birth
Goalkeeper
1	Amirul Rizlan Azami		GK	2005
20	Azrul Nazhan Mohd Nasrah		GK	2004
22	Muhammad Aliff Hanbali Nor Azman		GK	2004
Defenders
3	Muhammad Wazif Nazarail		CB	2005
12	Muhammad Yazid Nor Azmi		LB,LWB	2004
14	Danish Arfan Mohd Shukri		LB,LWB	2004
15	Muhammad Zairol Arief Abdullah		CB	2004
16	Muhammad Iqmal Hazim Muhamed Sufian		RB,RWB	2004
19	Muhammad Arif Ridhwan Ruslan		RB,RWB	2004
27	Muhammad Danial Hariz Mohd Faizal		CB	2004
30	Muhammad Harif Mustaqim Hamdan		CB,LB,RB	2004
Midfielders
4	Muhammad Haikal Abdul Hamid		CM	2004
5	Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Kamal Tajul Arifin		LW, LM	2005
7	Luqman Hakim Sukemi		RM, RW	2004
8	Muhammad Farid Aiman Anuar Amri		AM, CM	2004
11	Muhammad Amir Danial Muhamad Herman		LW, LM	2005
13	Mohammad Fakrul Amin Ahmad Roslizan		RM, RW	2006
17	Muhamad Raihan Ramlan		CM	2004
18	Nur Aiman Anuar		DM	2005
24	Danial Luqman Ibrahim		DM, CM	2004
25	Mohd Hafiz A.Aziz		CM	2004
26	Mohamad Ikmal Rizal Zaman Huri		CM	2004
28	Mohammad Akimie Amran		CM	2004
Forwards
6	Muhammad Alif Danial Muhd Anuar		ST, AM	2004
9	Suhaimi Abu		ST	2004
10	Nik Muhammad Ezwan Nik Ahmad Tajul Ariff		ST	2004
21	Mohamad Aiman Fahmi Mohd Azam		ST	2004
29	Mohamad Haziq Hafiz Mohd Hidrus		ST	2006

Source: ^{[20] [21]}

Officials

• Patron:
• President: Anuar Malek
• Deputy president: Mohd Isa Abu Kassim
• Vice president 1: Anuar Malek
• Vice president 2: Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman
• Secretary general: Zulkarnain Muhammad
• Treasurer: Shahrin Mohd Ali

Team managers

Years	Name
2007 - 2012	Faisal Zakariah
2013	K. Devan
2014 - 2016	Jamaludin Ahmad
2016	Zulkarnain Mohamad
2017 - 2020	Jamaludin Ahmad

Coaches

Years	Name	Achievement
2007 - 2009	Reduan Abdullah
2009	Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Yunus (caretaker)
2009 - 2012	E. Elavarasan	2010 Premier League champions
2013	K. Devan
2014 - 2016	Irfan Bakti Abu Salim	2014 Premier League runner-up 2016 Super League runner up
2016	Mohamad Nik (caretaker)	2016 Super League runner up
2016 - 2017	Azmi Mohamed	2016 Super League runner up
February 2017	Mohamad Nik (caretaker)
February 2017 - November 2018	B. Sathianathan [22]	2018 Premier League champions
November 2018 - November 2020	Mohd Nidzam Jamil [23]

Honours and achievements

Honours

League

• Malaysia Super League
  • Runners-up: 2016
• Malaysia Premier League
  • Winners: 2010, 2018
  • Runners-up: 2014

Cups

• Malaysia FA Cup
  • Runners-up: 2014

Achievements

Year	League		Cups
	Division	Position	FA	Malaysia	AFC
2007	Malaysia FAM League	3rd	Not participated	Not participated	Not participated
2007–08	Malaysia Premier League	6/13	Quarter-finals	Not participated	Not participated
2009	Malaysia Premier League	6/13	Round of 32	Not participated	Not participated
2010	Malaysia Premier League	Champions	Round of 16	Group stage	Not participated
2011	Malaysia Super League	11/14	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals	Not participated
2012	Malaysia Super League	10/14	Round of 32	Quarter-finals	Not Participated
2013	Malaysia Super League	11/12	Round of 32	Group stage	Not participated
2014	Malaysia Premier League	Runners-up	Runners-up	Semi-finals	Not participated
2015	Malaysia Super League	5/12	Round of 32	Semi-finals	Not participated
2016	Malaysia Super League	Runners-up	Round of 16	Quarter-finals	Not participated
2017	Malaysia Super League	3/12	Second round	Semi-finals	Group stage
2018	Malaysia Premier League	Champions	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals	Not participated

Source: ^[2]

AFC competitions

Performance in AFC competitions

• AFC Cup: 1 Appearance
  • 2017: Group stage

AFC clubs ranking

As of 1 December 2017. ^[24]

Current Rank	Country	Team
119		Felda United
120		Al-Ahli
121		Ahal
122		East Bengal
123		Alay Osh
124		Bangkok United

Contiental record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2017	AFC Cup	Group G	Tampines Rovers	1–3	2–1	4th
			Hà Nội	1–1	4–1
			Ceres-Negros	0–0	3–0

References

1. "No more the settlers". New Straits Times. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
2. Felda United Achievements
3. Felda United guna Stadium Tun Abdul Razak musim ini Berita Harian, 3 February 2016
4. Felda United 'uproot' themselves
5. "Peneroka tubuh pasukan Felda United sertai Liga FAM". FourFourTwo. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
6. Felda United captured 2018 Malaysia Premier League Title Zulhilmi Zainal, 18 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
7. "Felda United FC to withdraw from M-League next season". Malaymail.com.
8. "Felda United 'uproot' themselves". nst.com.my.
9. Lesen Kebangsaan Felda United 2019 Lulus Zulfaizan Mansor, 16 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
10. Najib Kicks Off Felda United. The Star, 20 January 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2019
11. Sejarah Felda United Felda United FC. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
12. Felda United Demoted for Failing to Comply with Regulations New Straits Times, 4 December 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
13. Sathianathan Demands for their Rights Sulaiman Ismail, 19 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
14. Shukor wants Felda to Settle Overdue Payment Stadium Astro, 2 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
15. Felda United Drop Key Players The Star, 18 November 2018. Retrieved by 14 January 2019.
16. Felda Tukar Semua Pemain Import Asrol Awang, 18 November 2018. Retrieved by 14 January 2019.
17. Felda United Pays Overdue Payment Syafiq Aznan, 11 January 2019. Retrieved by 14 January 2019.
18. "Felda U21". www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
19. "Felda U21 2020". www.feldaunitedfc.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
20. "Felda Utd U19". www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
21. "Felda Utd U19 2020". FAM. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
22. "Sathianathan jurulatih baharu Felda United". Berita Harian. 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
23. "Nidzam Jamil jurulatih baharu Felda United". Semuanya Bola. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
24. "AFC Club Ranking (2nd July 2017 )". globalfootballranks.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

External links

• Association football portal
• Malaysia portal

• Official website