Kelantan The Real Warriors F.C.

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Kelantan The Real Warriors
Kelantan The Real Warriors.png
Full nameKelantan The Real Warriors Football Club
Nickname(s)The Real Warriors [1]
Short nameKTRW
Founded2016;9 years ago (2016), as MPKB-BRI UBeS
Ground Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium
Capacity22,000
President Annuar Musa
CEOIrwan Rizal
Head coach E. Elavarasan
League Malaysia Super League
2024–25 Malaysia Super League, 13th of 13
Website therealwarriors.com.my
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club (Malay : Kelab Bola Sepak Kelantan The Real Warriors) is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. [2] [3] [4] The club plays in the Malaysia Super League, the top-flight football league of Malaysia, after being promoted from the Malaysia Premier League in 2022. [5]

Contents

History

Formation and early years

The club was previously known as Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu-Bandar Raya Islam Urusetia Belia and Sukan Negeri Kelantan Football Club (MPKB-BRI UBeS FC). They entered the Malaysian football competition in 2016 when the club was accepted to compete in the FAM League. [6] The club finished the season at the eight place.

For the 2017 season, they participated in the Malaysia FA Cup. [7] [8] [9] The club was later rebranded to Kelantan United Football Club as an effort to bring in support in the local area. In 2023, the club was promoted to the Malaysia Super League for the first time in their history. On 2 June 2023, Kelantan United recorded their first win in the top flight against city rivals Kelantan, with the score of 4–1.

Rebranding

In the 2024–25 Malaysia Super League season, Kelantan United was rebranded as Kelantan Darul Naim Football Club. The club's president Rozi Muhammad said the rebranding comes from the management's desire to unite Kelantan supporters under one banner. [10] In November 2024, the club travelled to India and took part in the 2024 edition of the Sikkim Gold Cup. [11] [12] In 2025, they were rebranded again, this time as Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club.

Crest and colours

Crest

The club has used one primary crest since its participation in the national level football league competition before the club introduce a new crest starting in 2017 season to solidify its new branding. [13] [14]

Colours

Kelantan has mostly worn black with mixture of red as their home kit. [15] For 2017 season, the club play in red with a trim of white for home kit. [14] Kelantan's away colours are usually white with green trim. [14]

Ownership and finances

PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor (chest)
2016SalaMinyak Mestika, SH Prima Trading
2017GomoGiMPKB-BRI
2018KronosGelumbang Jaya
2019SkyHawkU-Shop, MySports Station
2020Visit Kelantan 2020, Jaya Mas Mining
2021 Umbro Kelantan Melangkah Kehadapan, Yakult
2022Gatti
2023IAMKelantan Melangkah Kehadapan, Nasken Coffee
2024–2025PUC SportVisit Kelantan 2024
2025–Al Hamra Group, Kijang Handal

Season by season record

SeasonLeagueCupAsia
DivisionPldWDLFADPtsPosCharityMalaysia [a] FACompetitionResult
2016 FAM 142481223-11108th Group BNot qualified
2017 145632116-5215th Group ANot qualified Second round
2018 122281321-887th Group ANot qualified
2019 M3 2621329320+73661stTBD Third round
2020 MPL 114071319-6128thQualified Second round
2021 2082102528-3277thQualified
2022 186752319+4255thQualified
2023 MSL 2645172965-361712th Round of 16 Round of 16
2024–25 MSL 2421211682-361713th Round of 16 Round of 16
ChampionsRunners-upThird place Promoted Relegated

Players

As of 31 August 2025 [16]

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
2 DF Flag of the Philippines.svg  PHI Simen Lyngbø
4 MF Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Sebastian Avanzini
5 DF Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  CIV Alexandre Yeoulé
7 FW Flag of Bahrain.svg  BHR Prince Aggreh
8 MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Albert Kang
10 MF Flag of Bahrain.svg  BHR Habib Haroon
11 DF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Wan Amirul Afiq
12 FW Flag of Bahrain.svg  BHR Ifedayo Olusegun (captain)
13 GK Flag of Bulgaria.svg  BUL Damyan Damyanov
14 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Nor Azam Azih
15 DF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Nik Umar
17 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Syafik Ismail
18 GK Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Azfar Arif
19 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Syaahir Saiful
20 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Danial Haqim
No.Pos.NationPlayer
21 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Khairul Izuan
23 DF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Azwan Aripin
24 FW Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  SLE Abdul Sesay
25 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Syahir Rashid
26 FW Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS T. Saravanan
27 MF Flag of Sweden.svg  SWE Saifu Izamander
29 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Farris Izdiham
30 MF Flag of Myanmar.svg  MYA Hein Htet Aung
33 GK Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Fikri Che Soh
36 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Noel Mbo
45 DF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Faris Shah
50 DF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Rakesh Munusamy
66 DF Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  SLE Yusuf Sesay
70 FW Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Sean Selvaraj
88 MF Flag of Malaysia.svg  MAS Asraff Aliffuddin

Club officials

Coaching staff

As of 31 August 2025
PositionName
Head coach Flag of Malaysia.svg E. Elavarasan
Assistant head coach Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Muamer Salibašić
Goalkeeping coach Flag of Malaysia.svg Khairul Nizan Mohd Taib
Fitness coach Flag of Malaysia.svg Kamarul Dinis Kamarudin
Doctors Flag of Malaysia.svg Nabil Aiman Noor Adnan
Flag of Malaysia.svg Ahmad Baihaqi Abd Rahman
Flag of Malaysia.svg Muhammad Hafiz Kamaruzaman
Flag of Malaysia.svg Ahmad Waqiuddin Rajab
Physiotherapist Flag of Malaysia.svg Muhammad Amir Fadzlan
Kitmen Flag of Malaysia.svg Shamsudin Deraman
Flag of Malaysia.svg Zairul Fitree Ishak
Flag of Malaysia.svg Shahrul Ridzuan Samsuddin

Club personnel

PositionName
President Flag of Malaysia.svg Annuar Musa
Chief executive officer Flag of Malaysia.svg Irwan Rizal

Coaches

NameNationalityFromTo
Abdullah MuhammadFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 20162016
Azli MahmoodFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 20162016
Kamarudin MuhamadFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 20172017
Abdullah MuhammadFlag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 20182018
Zahasmi Ismail Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 201917 September 2020
Akira HigashiyamaFlag of Japan.svg  Japan 1 January 202130 June 2021
Nazrulerwan Makmor Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 19 July 20219 January 2022
Syamsul Saad Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 10 January 20228 August 2022
Tomáš Trucha Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 30 December 20228 April 2023
Ailton Silva Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 15 June 202321 November 2023
Park Jae-hong Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 19 April 202424 January 2025
E. Elavarasan Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 1 July 2025current

Top goalscorers

SeasonPlayerGoals
2017 Flag of Malaysia.svg Raim Azmi4
2018 Flag of Malaysia.svg Masri Asyraf5
2019 Flag of Malaysia.svg Fakhrul Zaman35
2020 Flag of The Gambia.svg Gassama Alfussainey6
2021 Flag of The Gambia.svg Gassama Alfussainey12
2022 Flag of Nigeria.svg Jacob Njoku 10
2023 Flag of the Philippines.svg OJ Porteria 7
2024–25 Flag of Palestine.svg Oday Kharoub 4

Honours

Domestic competitions

League

International competitions

References

  1. "KDN FC Kini Berjulukan The Real Warrior". Sukanz. 26 June 2025.
  2. Felda United And Kuala Lumpur Draw Tough Opponents In FA Cup Competition
  3. Felda, KL berdepan laluan getir di pusingan kedua
  4. azmi. "U-BeS FC rebut Piala FAM musim ini". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. "five new teams make it to FAM League". FootballSentral.com. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  6. Keputusan Penuh Undian Piala FAM, Piala Presiden & Piala Belia 2016
  7. Keputusan Penuh Undian Piala FAM, Piala Presiden & Piala Belia 2017
  8. MPKB BRI-UBeS FC kekal patuh syariah
  9. MPKB-BRI Ubes Fc bawa elemen patuh syariah dalam saingan Piala FAM 2017
  10. "KUFC rebranded as Kelantan Darul Naim this season". nst.com.my. NST. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  11. "Gangtok Himalayan SC sets up quarterfinal clash with Malaysian club". Gangtok. 13 November 2024. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  12. Gurung, Bijoy (18 November 2024). "GANGTOK HIMALAYAN STUNS MALAYSIAN CLUB, BOOKS SF BERTH". The Sikkim Express. Gangtok. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  13. "MPKB-BRI UBES FC Merekodkan Nama Kelab Kedua Terpanjang di Dunia". Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 "MPKB BRI-UBes FC duta promosi Negeri Kelantan – Ahmad Yakob | Stadium Astro". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017. MPKB BRI-UBes FC duta promosi Negeri Kelantan – Ahmad Yakob
  15. MPKB-BRI UBeS FC perlu bangkit
  16. "Team detail - Kelantan The Real Warriors FC". fam.org.my. Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 19 August 2025.