| Parliament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 11 September 1926 |
| FIFA affiliation | 1954 |
| Parliament affiliation | 1954 [1] |
| AFF affiliation | 1984 |
| President | Hamidin Mohd Amin |
| Website | fam |
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM; Malay : Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM.
Football was introduced to Malaya by the British, and the locals quickly embraced the game, making it the country's leading sport. By the late 19th century, football had become a central activity in most sports clubs across Malaya, though it lacked proper structure. The establishment of the Selangor Amateur Football League in 1905 brought some administration and organization, but the competition remained limited to clubs in Kuala Lumpur. [2]
In 1921, the battleship HMS Malaya visited the country. The officers and crew, after competing in football and rugby matches with local teams, decided to commemorate the games by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both sports. This led to the establishment of a national football tournament involving all states in Malaya. Known initially as the Malaya Cup—later renamed the Malaysia Cup in 1963—the competition has been held continuously, except during the war years. [2]
In 1926, the Selangor Amateur Football League was officially established. Ten years later, in 1936, the Football Association of Selangor was formed. This association began organizing tournaments, which inspired other states in Malaya to follow suit. Also in 1926, the Football Associations of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, and the Singapore Amateur Football Association came together to form the Malayan Football Association (MFA). The MFA was created to assemble a Malayan team to compete against an Australian side visiting Singapore that year. [2]
In 1933, the MFA was reorganized into the Football Association of Malaya (FAM). Initially headquartered in Singapore, the FAM took on responsibility for running the Malaya Cup competition. [2]
The first FAM president was Sir Andrew Caldecott, followed by M.B. Shelley, Dr. J.S. Webster, S.D. Scott, R. Williamson, and Adrian Clark, who served until 1940. As Europe entered full-scale war with Germany, FAM operations moved from Singapore to Malaya, and A.R. Singham became the first Asian secretary in 1941.[ citation needed ] After the war, J.E. King became FAM's president, succeeded by H.P. Byson and then Dr. C. Rawson, who served for two years before the position was taken over by the first non-British president. [2]
In 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman—later Malaysia's first Prime Minister—was appointed as FAM president. Under his leadership, football in Malaysia entered a new phase, with the FAM playing a more prominent role beyond organizing the Malaysia Cup. [2]
In 1956, FAM became one of the 14 founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Two years later, it achieved full membership in FIFA. [2]
Tunku Abdul Rahman’s passion for football played a pivotal role in the construction of the Merdeka Stadium, which in 1957 became a historic site as the venue for Malaysia’s independence declaration from Britain. [3]
The stadium also marked the beginning of the Merdeka Tournament (Pestabola Merdeka), which was popularly referred to as the 'Mini Asia Cup' from the 1960s to the 1980s. [4] The tournament was a significant success and inspired similar events such as the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament in Indonesia, the King's Cup in Thailand, and the President's Cup in South Korea. [5] The inaugural tournament—then the premier football competition in Asia—was won by Hong Kong. [3] Malaya claimed the title three consecutive times, winning in 1958 and 1959, and sharing it with South Korea in 1960. [3] The country later qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. [3]
In the early 1960s, the organization’s name was officially changed to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Tunku Abdul Rahman continued to promote football development, particularly through youth competitions, until his resignation in 1974. [2] His successor, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, held the post for one year before Hamzah Abu Samah took over in 1976. Hamzah, who was the Minister of Trade and Industry, introduced several initiatives to develop the sport. [2]
Between 1976 and 1984, numerous football programs were implemented under Hamzah’s leadership. [2] The FAM entered a new phase when the Sultan of Pahang, Haji Ahmad Shah, assumed leadership. His tenure saw the introduction of the semi-professional league in 1989, which eventually transitioned into full professionalism. [2] Despite these efforts, success on the international stage for Malaysia's national team remained elusive. [2]
One of the highlights of Malaysian football history was hosting the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Domestically, the league underwent several transformations, culminating in the establishment of the Malaysia Super League (M-League) in 2004. However, the national team suffered significant defeats in international competitions during this period.
On 13 September 2018, FAM received the AFC Dream Asia Award in the Developing Category. [6] In 2019, FAM was also awarded the AFC Dream Asia Award (Bronze) in the Inspiring Category. [7]
There are 20 Football Associations affiliated to the FAM. Besides the 14 FAs with regional location, six others are affiliated units. [8] [9]
Perlis Football Association (PFA)
Football Association Penang (FAP)
Kedah Football Association (KFA)
Perak Football Association (PAFA)
Football Association of Selangor (FAS)
Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA)
Negeri Sembilan Football Association (NSFA)
Melaka Football Association (MAFA)
Johor Football Association (JFA)
Football Association of Kelantan (KAFA)
Football Association of Terengganu (TFA)
Football Association of Pahang (PBNP)
Football Association of Sarawak (FAS)
Sabah Football Association (SAFA)
Malaysian Malays Football Association (PBMM) Malaysian Chinese Football Association (MCFA) Malaysian Indian Sports Council (MISC) Royal Malaysia Police Football Association (RMPFA) Armed Forces Football Association (AFFA) Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM)The State Associations have their own constitutions and structure. During the early amateur era of Malaysian football, most of the state FAs was made up of small organisation with only some bigger states have an active football league while the smaller FAs will send a team to compete in the Malaysia Cup. [10] [11] [12]
Depending on the size of the state, the State Associations have district associations affiliated to them. Clubs are directly affiliated to the State Football Association alongside the District Football Association.
Each State conducts its own competitions. Competitions are at state level where the winners will have a chances to be nominated by their state FAs for promotion to Malaysia FAM League. [13] There are also inter-district competitions such as Liga Bolasepak Rakyat.
The Football Association of Malaysia had run all top football competitions in Malaysia until 2015, when the Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP), which is now known as the Malaysian Football League (MFL) was formed as part of the privatisation of the Malaysian football league system. The MFL took over all the top professional football competition previously managed by the FAM. The list below are the competitions which are managed by the Malaysia Football League since it inception in 2015: [14]
FAM now focuses on youth development football, women football and futsal leagues and tournaments in Malaysia: [15]
AFL is a subsidiary of MFL that is responsible to organize and manage lower football leagues in Malaysia.
| Office | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| President | Sir Andrew Caldecott | 1933–1934 |
| M.B. Shelley | ||
| J.S. Webster | ||
| S.D. Scott | ||
| R. Williamson | ||
| Adrian Clark | 1938–1940 | |
| J.E. King | 1947–1948 | |
| H.P. Byson | 1948–1949 | |
| C. Rawson | 1949–1951 | |
| Tunku Abdul Rahman | 1958–1974 | |
| Abdul Razak Hussein | 1975–1976 | |
| Hamzah Abu Samah | 1976–1983 | |
| Ahmad Shah of Pahang | 1984–2014 | |
| Abdullah of Pahang | 2014–2017 | |
| Tunku Ismail Idris | 2017–2018 | |
| Hamidin Mohd Amin | 2018– | |
| Office | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| General Secretary | A.R. Singham | 1941 |
| Kwok Kin Keng | 1948–1979 | |
| T.P. Murugasu | 1980–1987 | |
| Paul Mony Samuel | 1988–2000 | |
| Dell Akbar Khan | 2000-2005 | |
| Ibrahim Saad | 2005–2007 | |
| Azzuddin Ahmad | 2007–2013 | |
| Hamidin Mohd Amin | 2013–2018 | |
| Stuart Ramalingam | 2018–2021 | |
| Mohd Saifuddin Abu Bakar | 1 September 2021– | |
| Name | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hamidin Mohd Amin | President | [16] [17] |
| Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub | Vice President | [16] |
| Ab Ghani Hassan | 2nd Vice President | [16] |
| S Sivasundaram | 3rd Vice President | [16] |
| Rosmadi Ismail | 4th Vice President | [16] |
| Subahan Kamal | 5th Vice President | [17] |
| Mohd Yusoff Mahadi | 6th Vice President | [17] |
| Stuart Ramalingam | General Secretary | [16] [17] |
| Ismail Karim | Treasurer | [16] |
 Scott O'Donell | Advisor & Agent | |
 Yusuke Adashi | Vice Advisor & Agent | |
| Scott O'Donnell | Technical Director | [16] [17] |
 Pau Martí (caretaker) | Team Coach (Men's) | [16] [17] |
| Jacob Joseph | Team Coach (Women's) | [16] [17] |
| Wan Fakhrul Bakar | Media/Communications Manager | [16] |
| P Sentikumar | Futsal Coordinator | [16] |
| Kassim Kadir Bacha | Referee Coordinator | [16] |
The Malaysia national football team represents Malaysia in international football and is governed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football team which was founded for the 1963 Merdeka Tournament one month before the institution of Malaysia. The team is officially nicknamed Harimau Malaya in reference to the Malayan Tiger. Former player Mokhtar Dahari is one of the top goal scorers in international history.
The Malaysia Cup, formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, it does not guarantee a place in a continental competition, which is allocated to the Malaysia FA Cup winners. The competition was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before it was transferred to the Football Malaysia LLP in the 2016 season.
Selangor Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The club currently competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top tier of Malaysian football. The club is nicknamed the Red Giants. Officially founded in 1936 by the Football Association of Selangor (FAS), the association built its football development as a result of a merger with the Selangor Association Football League and forming the professional football team known as Selangor. On 2 October 2020, the club officially made its privatization under a new entity as Selangor Football Club after it was officially approved by the Football Association of Malaysia on 29 September 2020. The club currently plays its home games at the Petaling Jaya Stadium after the club's original home ground, the Shah Alam Stadium, was closed to undergo major renovation and rebuilding work which was prolonged for an extended period of time.
Mohd Safee bin Mohd Sali is a former Malaysian footballer who formerly played for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City as a forward.
Mohd Daudsu Bin Jamaludin is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Malaysia FAM League club D'AR Wanderers.
Football is the most popular national sport in Malaysia, where the first modern set of rules were established in 1921. It is run by the Football Association of Malaysia. The association administers the national football teams and league competitions.
Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan bin Mohd Ali is a Malaysian football coach and former player.
The FAM Cup was a knock-out football tournament for teams in both the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League in Malaysia. The tournament was a cup format, but from 2008 to 2018 was held as a third-tier league tournament and used the FAM League name.
The Malaysia FA Cup is an annual football competition in Malaysia, established in 1990. It was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before being transferred to the Malaysian Football League in the 2016 season.
Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Ghani bin Minhat was a football player who represented the team Selangor FA and Negeri Sembilan FA in the 1950s until the late 1960s. He played as a striker and winger while representing Malaya and Malaysia. He was known as the Raja Bola and is considered one of Malaysia's greatest football players.
The Malaysian League, also known as the M-League, is a terminology used to describe the professional association football league in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league and its divisions associated within the Malaysian football league system.
Reduan Abdullah is a retired Malaysian football player, and a current coach for UiTM FC in Malaysia Super League.
Joseph Choo Seng Quee, popularly known as Uncle Choo, was a Singaporean footballer and football coach. He was coach of the Indonesia, Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore national teams. He is widely recognised as one of Singapore's best football coaches.
Abdullah bin Yeop Noordin was a Malaysian football player who represented the Malaysian national football team in the late 1960s.
Muhammad Faisal bin Abdul Halim, better known as Faisal or by his nickname Mickey, is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Malaysian Super League club Selangor and the Malaysia national team.
Football is the most popular sport in Malaysia, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1921, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. The sport of football in the country of Malaysia is run by the Football Association of Malaysia.
The Malaysia A2 Amateur League (Malay: Liga A2 Amatur Malaysia, previously known as the Malaysia M4 League, or also known as the Al-Ikhsan Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier football league in the Malaysian football league system. The league was created in 2018 as part of the Malaysian Football League's plan to reform the Malaysian football league structure.
Muhammad Azam bin Azmi Murad is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Malaysia Football league club Terengganu FC, on loan from Johor Darul Ta'zim, and the Malaysia national team.
Roslan Buang is a former Selangor FA and Malaya player. He was often called the "Trojan" by fans because of his hard playing style to make quick runs from the side and make cross passes.
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