Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C.

Petaling Jaya Rangers

Full name	Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Rangers
Short name	PJR
Founded	9 August 2011;13 years ago (2011-08-09)
Dissolved	2019
Ground	AirAsia-MBPJ Stadium
Capacity	25,000
Owner	AirAsia Group
Chairman	Tony Fernandes
Head coach	Khairul Anuar Jamil
League	Selangor Super League
2019	Super League, 6th

Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club or PJ Rangers was a professional football club based in Petaling Jaya, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. ^[1] Founded in 2011, the club's main ground was the AirAsia Stadium. ^[2]

In 2018, they played in the third division Malaysia FAM League after being promoted from Selangor Super League in 2014. ^[2] The club was formerly known as AirAsia Allstars, before being rebranded in December 2016 to Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

Origins

Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club was formed on 9 August 2011 as its former name AirAsia Allstars Football Club and competed in the Selangor State League. ^{[2] [1] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]} According to founder Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, the initial purpose of the club was to "encourage AirAsia’s staff to excel in sports – football in particular – besides being committed to their daily work in keeping AirAsia as the best low cost airline in the world." ^[2] The club won the league and were promoted to play in the national league, Malaysia FAM League.

Promotion to Malaysia FAM League

The club was promoted to the Malaysia FAM League for the 2015 season after moving up from the Selangor Super League. ^{[2] [1] [12]} For their first season in the national league, the club appointed Mohd Nidzam Jamil as the new head coach. ^{[13] [14]} The club ended its first season at 7th place. After the first four matches of the 2016 season, the club replaced Nidzam Jamil with P. Maniam for the remainder of the season. ^{[15] [16]} The club managed to reach the playoff for the Malaysia Premier League after finishing the season in 3rd place, although did not manage to be promoted.

Rebranded as Petaling Jaya Rangers

In November 2016, the club has announced the appointment of Mat Zan Mat Aris as the new head coach with a contract of two years. ^{[17] [18] [19] [20]} Mat Zan Mat Aris was the former head coach of Melaka United who achieved a back-to-back promotion from the third division. ^[17] They unveiled plans for the 2017 season with a rebranding from AirAsia F.C. to Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C., in order to bring more fans and promote local community support. ^{[1] [5] [6] [11]} The club also revealed its plans for 2017 with the focus on engaging communities. ^[21] The club aimed to actively engage with and serve football fans in the area. ^{[1] [5] [7]}

Petaling Jaya Rangers announced an exclusive partnership with Queens Park Rangers (QPR) to start a football academy. ^{[1] [5] [6] [11]} The academy aimed to nurture and train the next generation of footballers. ^{[1] [5]} Working together with the team, QPR lent their expertise in training players and staff. ^{[1] [5] [7] [11]} PJ Rangers were put in group B for the 2017 Malaysia FAM League, with seven other clubs. ^[22] The club was knocked out from the 2017 Malaysia FA Cup in the second round after a 2–1 defeat by UiTM. ^{[23] [21]} At the end of the season, PJ Rangers finished second and were defeated by Shahzan Muda FC 3–1 in the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

In the 2018 Malaysia FAM Cup season, the club again achieved second place in group B and qualified for the knockout stage. PJ Rangers failed at the penultimate stage when they were defeated 4–3 on aggregate to Selangor United. At the end of the season, the management announced that they would not participate in the next FAM Cup season, instead rejoining the Selangor Super League in 2019. ^[24]

Stadium

Main article: Petaling Jaya Stadium

MBPJ Stadium

PJ Rangers home stadium was the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. ^{[5] [6] [7] [9]} In 2015 Malaysia FAM League, the club played in MPSJ Stadium, Subang Jaya, before moving to UPM Mini Stadium, Serdang for the remainder of the season. For the second season, the club once again moved, to the Shah Alam Stadium. ^[6]

Crest and colours

The original crest, adopted when the club was founded in 2011 featured the logo of AirAsia as the main theme with the Allstars suffix. Despite the club being founded in 2011, the words "EST 2001" featured on the crest. This was reference to the establishment of the AirAsia company after Tune Air, bought it from a Malaysian government-owned company in September 2001. ^{[25] [26]} The crest was replaced with a new design to reflect the club's rebranding with a colour theme of maroon and gold for the 2017 season. The logo was created by Rafizi Ibrahim, coincidentally a freelance graphic designer from Petaling Jaya through a logo design competition held in 2016 and was personally chosen by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes himself"

Supporters

As part of the rebranding effort, the club changed its name to Petaling Jaya Rangers with the emphasis on engaging the Petaling Jaya community ^{[5] [6]} via community programs. ^{[27] [5] [6]}

Ownership and finances

The club aimed to be a sustainable self-funding entity and reduce its dependency on AirAsia via financial funding through other methods of corporate sponsorship, gate receipt, and merchandise. ^{[5] [2] [6] [7] [11] [21]}

Sponsorship

In 2016 The PJ Rangers kit was supplied by Line 7. ^[21] The club has also had other shared shirt sponsors, as they have been previously sponsored by GE Aviation in 2015 season.

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2015	EGO SPORT [28]	AirAsia / GE Aviation
2016	Line 7	AirAsia

Season by season record

Season	League									Top goalscorer		FA Cup	Malaysia Cup /Challenge Cup
	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos	Name	Goals
2015	FAM League	16	4	4	8	15	21	16	7th, group B			DNQ	DNQ
2016	FAM League	16	8	6	2	19	17	30	3rd, group A			Second round	DNQ
2017	FAM League	14	6	5	3	15	11	23	Quarter-finals			Second round	DNQ
2018	FAM League	8	4	2	2	17	9	14	Semi-finals	Raslam Khan	9	Second round	DNQ
2019	FAS Super League	8	3	2	3	8	8	11	6th	Syamsol Sabtu	3	DNQ	DNQ

Players (2019)

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. Nation Player 1 GK   MAS Amirul Ashraf Rahman 2 DF   MAS Firdaus Rahmat 3 MF   MAS Abdul Jalil Rauf 4 DF   MAS Mohd Mahathir 5 DF   MAS Mohd Naim Hashim 6 MF   MAS Rahmat Zainol 7 FW   MAS Amirul Afiq Asri 8 FW   MAS Ahmed Fadzil 9 MF   MAS Izzudin Mat 10 FW   MAS Khairul Azahar 11 MF   MAS Syamsol Sabtu 12 MF   MAS Nurariff Daniel Zulkahar 14 FW   MAS Amirul Mat Amin

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 FW   MAS Hezree Syafiq 16 DF   MAS Tuah Iskandar 17 MF   MAS Reeshafiq Alwi 18 MF   MAS Salahuddin Zambri 19 MF   MAS Abd Rahman Ghani 20 DF   MAS Mohd Firdaus Afandi 21 MF   MAS Rosli Muda 21 DF   MAS Wan Mohd Aminuddin 23 MF   MAS Shahril Izwan Abdullah 24 GK   MAS Noor Hafis Che Haron 25 DF   MAS Premanathan Karisnan 26 MF   MAS Nor Syafiq Syazwan 29 MF   MAS Hariri

Transfers

For recent transfers, see List of Malaysian football transfers 2018 and List of Malaysian football transfers 2017

Head coaches

Year	Name
2014	Asmawi Bakiri
January 2015–28 March 2016	Mohd Nidzam Jamil [13] [14]
30 March–October 2016	P. Maniam [15] [18] [19]
November 2016–20 October 2017	Mat Zan Mat Aris [17] [20]
20 October 2017 – 2018	Hassan Sazali Waras
2019	Khairul Anuar Jamil

Management (2016)

Position	Name
Founder	Kamarudin Meranun
Patron	Tony Fernandes
President	Riad Asmat
Deputy President	Simon Lim
Vice President / Chief Finance Officer	Mustaffa Ramly
Vice President II	Victor William
Secretary	Mohd. Fakhrurrazi Ismail
Treasurer	Mustaffa Ramly
Security officer	Govindran a/l Karuppiah
Media officers	Mohd. Rizuan Bidin
	Galvin Tan
Community manager	Galvin Tan
Coordinator	Melvin Jacob

Coaching staff (2019)

Position	Name
Team manager	Dato’ Halim Mu’azzam Bin Dato’ Ayob
Assistant manager	Galvin Tan
Head coach	Khairul Anuar Jamil
Assistant coach	Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yaakob
Goalkeeping coach	Muzaffar Shah Dzulkifli
Physiotherapist	Muhammad Hafizzudin Mohd Ramli
Kitman	Muhd Zukri Abd Hamid

References

1. "AirAsia FC unveil plans for 2017, set to be renamed as Petaling Jaya Rangers - Fourthofficial.com". fourthofficial.com. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
2. "AirAsia Allstars stand for what we believe in football, says Datuk Kamarudin". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
3. http://www.hmetro.com.my/node/187319 Belum layak jadi Presiden FAM
4. https://www.utusan.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/tony-kekal-pendirian-enggan-tanding-presiden-fam-1.417064 Tony kekal pendirian enggan tanding Presiden FAM
5. "AirAsia FC change name to Petaling Jaya Rangers". The Star. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
6. http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2016/12/07/30228752/new-name-and-targets-petaling-jaya-rangers-fc-aims-to-build AirAsia FC revamps to Petaling Jaya Rangers FC as Tony Fernandes hopes to kickstart a community-based club following
7. http://www.bharian.com.my/node/220952 AirAsia FC kini dikenali Petaling Jaya Rangers
8. https://www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my/pasukan/pialafam2016 SENARAI PASUKAN PIALA FAM 2016
9. http://www.mstar.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/2016/12/06/red-jets-ganti-aa-fc/ AirAsia FC Kini Dikenali Petaling Jaya Rangers FC
10. "Air Asia FC Kini Dengan Nama Barunya, Petaling Jaya Rangers". The Sukan. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
11. http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2017/01/01/31024822/pj-rangers-aim-to-grow-with-petaling-jaya-communitys-help PJ Rangers aim to grow with Petaling Jaya community's help
12. http://www.bharian.com.my/node/45479 Liga FAM: Skuad AirAsia Allstars berhajat 'terbang tinggi'
13. http://www.sinarharian.com.my/edisi/utara/mohd-nidzam-ketua-jurulatih-airasia-all-stars-1.358602 Mohd Nidzam ketua jurulatih AirAsia All Stars
14. "Mohd Nidzam Is New Head Coach Of AirAsia All Stars FC". Mynewshub. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
15. Article title ^{[ usurped ]} Air Asia AllStars Hilang Pengendali
16. http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/12/23/air-asia-fc-diarah-bayar-baki-gaji-kepada-nidzam-jamil AirAsia FC diarah bayar baki gaji Nidzam Jamil
17. http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/11/05/matzan-mat-aris-sah-ke-airasia-fc Tak perlulah Melaka, Mat Zan Mat Aris sah ke AirAsia FC
18. http://english.astroawani.com/sports-news/mat-zan-wants-take-airasia-allstars-premier-league-2018-121633 Mat Zan wants to take AirAsia Allstars to Premier League in 2018
19. https://www.malaysiakini.com/sukan/361773 Mat Zan kini kemudi AirAsia Allstars FC
20. http://www.bharian.com.my/node/209607 Mat Zan sasar bawa AirAsia Allstars ke Liga Perdana
21. "#PJRangers: How Tony Fernandes plans to revolutionise football in Petaling Jaya". fourthofficial.com. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
22. "KEPUTUSAN PENUH UNDIAN PIALA FAM, PIALA PRESIDEN & PIALA BELIA 2017". www.fam.org.my. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
23. http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2017/02/15/32695572/uitms-only-advantage-was-their-foreign-players-pj-rangers 'UiTM's only advantage was their foreign players' - PJ Rangers' Mat Zan
24. "PJ Rangers tarik diri saingan Piala FAM". 7 November 2018.
25. "How Air Asia founder Tony Fernandes' dream came true". BBC News. 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
26. http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2001&dt=0907&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_01.htm DRB-HICOM jual AirAsia
27. http://www.mbpj.gov.my/en/mbpj/profile/background Official Portal of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
28. "Product not found!".