The most significant successes of the national team of Malaysia has come in the regional AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the Tiger Cup), which Malaysia won in 2010 for the first time in history. They beat Indonesia 4–2 on aggregate in the final to capture the country's first major international football title.
Malaysia had many top players, such as the legendary Mokhtar Dahari and Sabah's Hassan Sani and James Wong, which led Malaysia into their golden age during the 1970s until the 1980s. Before Mokhtar, the Malaysian King of Football Datuk Abdul Ghani Minhat was the most famous and respected footballer in the whole Malaya during the 1950s and 1960s. Malaysia's 15–1 victory over the Philippines in 1962 is currently the highest win of the national team.
In the FIFA World Rankings, Malaysia's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in August 1993 at 75th. Malaysia's main rival on the international stage are their geographical neighbors, Indonesia and Singapore, and past matches between these two teams have produced much drama. Malaysia is one of the most successful teams in Southeast Asia along with Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, winning the ASEAN Football Championship in 2010.
History
1900 to 1978
Football arrived in Malaysia, (Malaya at that time), with the British. The locals soon picked up the game, and soon it was the country's leading sport. Towards the end of the 19th century, football was one of the central pillars of most sports clubs in Malaya. Even when the Selangor Amateur Football League took shape in 1905 – which ensured proper administration and organization – the competition was confined only to clubs in Kuala Lumpur.[8][9]
The earliest known winners of football competition in Malaysia was YMCA in Penang in 1906.[10]
Three months later, the Chief Secretary of the Federated Malay States received a letter from Captain H. T. Buller of the H. M. S. Malaya, which offered two cups to be competed for in football and rugby as tokens of their gratitude for the reception they received in Malaya.[11] The cup for football were then known as the Malaya Cup The offer was accepted and various club representatives met to organize the tournament.[11] Malaya Cup committee was set up and it was decided to run the football competition in northern and southern sections. The first tournament were entrusted to be run by the Selangor Club.[11] The first ever Malaya Cup match was played on 20 August 1921, with Selangor defeating Penang 5–1 in front of an estimated crowd of 5,000 in Kuala Lumpur.[11] The inaugural tournament were played by six teams and won by Singapore.[12] During 1923, a newspaper described it as “by far the greatest sporting event of the year (in Malaya)”.[11]
In 1933, Football Association of Malaya (FAM) was founded.[13] By 1954, FAM joins FIFA as a member in AFC.
The Malaysia FAM Cup was established in 1952 as a secondary knockout competition to the more prestigious Malaya Cup. The competitions were held between the state teams, including Singapore, the Police, Army and the Prisons Department of Malaysia, in their early days.[14][15]
In 1959, the Malaya Cup departed from the traditional one-round tournament to a two-round home and away format in three zones (East, South, and North).[16]
FAM changed its name to Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in the early 1960s to coincide with the formation of Malaysia.[8] A new trophy for the Malaya Cup was inaugurated in 1967, and since then, the competition has been known as the Malaysia Cup.[17]
Starting in 1974, the state teams were barred from entering the FAM Cup, and only the club sides could enter.[15] In 1976 Penang was the first club from Malaysia which won the Aga Khan Gold Cup.
A Malaysian football league competition involving the representatives of the state football associations was first held in 1979.[18][19] When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup, where teams compete in a one-round league before advancing to the knock-out stage.[18] The top four teams at the end of the league would face off in two semi-finals before the winners made it to the finals. In 1981, the quarter-final stage was introduced, where eight teams qualified from the preliminary stage.[20]
However, it was not until 1982 that a league trophy was introduced to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions.[21] Since then, the Malaysia Cup has been held after the conclusion of the league each year, with only the best-performing teams in the league qualifying.
Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right. From 1982 until 1988, the league continued its purpose as a qualifying round for Malaysia Cup. In 1989, it was changed to a new format, the Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League (MSPFL), nearing fully professional status.
Initially, the only teams allowed to participate in the league were the state FA's sides, teams representing the Armed Forces and the Police, and teams representing the neighboring countries of Singapore and Brunei (though the Football Association of Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian League after the 1994 season following a dispute with the FAM).
The inaugural season of the MSPFL consisted of nine teams in First Division I and eight teams in Second Division. The Malaysian Police joined Division II in 1990.[22] Games were played on a home and away basis for about four months, roughly between the end of April or early May and the end of August or early September. Under the new format, only the top six teams in Division I and the Division II champions and runners-up would be involved in the Malaysia Cup.[22] The Malaysia Cup was played in the quarter-final stage, scheduled for November after the league was finished.[22]
In 1990, a new national knockout competition was introduced by the FAM, called the Malaysia FA Cup.[15]Perak is the winner of the inaugural season of the cup.[15]
In 1992, FAM created another amateur league for local clubs, the Liga Nasional.[23] The league was managed by an outside FAM entity, Super Club Sdn. Bhd. Some of the clubs that competed in the league were Hong Chin, Muar FA, PKNK Kedah, DBKL, PKNS, BSN, LPN, BBMB, Proton, PPC and PKENJ. Unfortunately, the league only ran for one season before folding. Some of the clubs then evolved and joined the main league, such as PKENJ, which became Johor FC.
In 1993, the format of the competition was changed to include a two-group league, followed by the traditional knockout format. Promotion to the professional Malaysian League was introduced for the first time in 1997. Johor FC and NS Chempaka FC were the first two sides to be promoted that year.[15]
In 1998, the Malaysia Premier League was divided into two divisions, consisting of Malaysia Premier League 1 and Malaysia Premier League 2 (Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2).[24][25]
During 1998, Malaysia Premier League 1 consisted of 12 teams, while Malaysia Premier League 2 had 8 teams.[24] 10 teams that previously played in the 1997 Malaysia Premier League were automatically qualified for the Malaysia Premier League 1. The other two spots were filled by a playoff round of the five lowest teams and the Malaysian Olympic football team. They were then put into the Malaysia Premier League 2 alongside Police, Malaysia Military, Negeri Sembilan Chempaka F.C., and PKN Johor. At this time, the league still consisted of semi-pro teams, where each team was allowed to register 25 players (minimum of 12 professionals for MPL 1 and 6 professionals for MPL 2).[24]
2004 to present: Era of Malaysia Super League
Both leagues continued until 2003, when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) decided to privatize the league and the Malaysia Super League was formed. Teams in Malaysia Premier League 1 and Malaysia Premier League 2 were then put through a qualification and play-off process to be promoted into the Malaysia Super League. Teams that failed the qualification were put into a new second-tier Malaysia Premier League.
Starting in 2016, the Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP), which is now known as the Malaysian Football League (MFL), took over all the top-tier professional football competitions. Under the new management, all clubs in the Malaysian league enjoyed their first ever season in 2021 as private football clubs. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been pushing its member clubs towards privatization in a bid to end their reliance on state funds.[26]
Further changes were made to the Malaysia FAM Cup in 2008, where the knockout stages were abolished and the double round-robin format was introduced. The tournament became known as the Malaysia FAM League.[27] In 2018, a new subsidiary of the company was formed known as the Amateur Football League (AFL), which was tasked with managing the third division and below from 2019 onward.[28] The AFL officially confirmed the formation of the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth divisions of the Malaysian football league system as amateur league competitions.
Records
Below are the record of teams in Malaysian football competitions since 1921 till present. Clubs in bold compete in Liga Super Malaysia as of the 2023 season; clubs in italic no longer exist.[11][15][29][30]
The Football Association of Malaysia is the national governing body of football in Malaysia. The Football Association of Malaysia headquarters is located at Wisma FAM.
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.
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.
Isa Bakar was a football player who represented the Malaysian national football team in the 1970s. He played for Penang FA in Malaysia's domestic competition.
Liga Semi-Pro was a semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. It consist of two divisions, the Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 and Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2. Liga Semi-Pro was official established in 1989 as a semi-pro league competition for football team in Malaysia to qualify for Piala Malaysia.
Piala Emas Raja–Raja is a regional annual football competition held between the states in Malaysia. The competition is managed by the Malaysian Football League.
Liga Perdana 1 or Liga Perdana Satu was the nation's top-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003.
The Malaysian football league system, also known as the Malaysian football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's football clubs in Malaysia. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the hypothetical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 10 clubs per division implies that hundreds of teams are members of a league in the Malaysian men's football league system.
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.
Terengganu Football Club is a professional football club based in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia, that competes in Malaysia Super League, the first division of Malaysian football league system.
Penang Football Club is a Malaysian professional football club based in George Town, Penang, that competes in the Malaysia Super League.
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.
Liga Perdana 2 or Liga Perdana Dua was the nation's second-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003.
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.
Liga Perdana was the top-tier football league in Malaysia that operated from 1994 to 1997. The league was formed and established in 1994 to succeed the Liga Semi-Pro and became the Malaysian fully professional football league. At this time the league was interchangeably referred as Malaysian League.
Liga Malaysia was an amateur football league in Malaysia that operated from 1982 until 1988. The league was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The Malaysian League was established in 1982 after the introduction of a league trophy for the winner of the league stage qualification round for the Malaysia Cup, with the format first introduced in 1979 where the top eight teams qualified from the league to compete in the knockout stages of the Malaysia Cup.
Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 was the top-tier semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. Liga Semi-Pro was official established in 1989 as a semi-pro league competition for football team in Malaysia to qualify for Piala Malaysia.
Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 was a second-tier semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. Liga Semi-Pro was official established in 1989 as a semi-pro league competition for football team in Malaysia to qualify for Piala Malaysia.
Aziz Ahmad was a Malaysian footballer who played for Penang as a striker.
↑ Karel Stokkermans (11 January 2018). "Malaysia 1952". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Atsushi Fujioka; Erik Garin; Mikael Jönsson; Hans Schöggl (11 January 2018). "FA Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
↑ Karel Stokkermans (18 January 2018). "Malaysia 1959". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
↑ "Malaysia 1967". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
1 2 "Malaysia 1979". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
↑ Peter Wilson; Benson Sim (28 July 2006). "The demand for Semi-Pro League football in Malaysia 1989–91: a panel data approach". Applied Economics. 27: 131–138. doi:10.1080/00036849500000015.
↑ "Malaysia 1981". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
↑ "Malaysia 1982". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
1 2 3 Ian King (28 September 2003). "Malaysia 1989". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
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Selangor 
Singapore 
Johor Darul Ta’zim 
Kedah 
Kelantan 
Perak 
Penang 
Kuala Lumpur 
Pahang 
Negeri Sembilan 
Terengganu 
Perlis 
Sarawak 
Armed Forces 
Sabah 
Melaka United 
Penjara F.C. 
Sime Darby F.C. 
Felda United 
Brunei 
Putrajaya SPA F.C. 
Rafael Vitor for Penang against Perak (3 August 2021)
