Selangor F.C. Under-23

This article is about the men's professional reserve team football club based in Selangor, Malaysia. For the men's first team football club, see Selangor F.C.

Selangor U-23

Full name	Selangor Football Club Under 23
Nickname(s)	The Young Giants Gergasi Merah (The Red Giants)
Short name	SFC U-23 SEL U-23
Founded	1967;57 years ago (1967) as PKNS FC 2 October 2020;4 years ago (2 October 2020), as Selangor Football Club (merge with FAS)
Ground	UiTM Stadium
Capacity	10,000
Owner	Red Giants FC Sdn Bhd
Chairman	Tengku Amir Shah
Head coach	Abdifitaah Hassan
League	MFL Cup
2023	MFL Cup, 4th of 7th (Round 1, Group B)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Selangor Football Club Under 23 (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor Bawah 23), commonly referred to as Selangor U-23 (who formerly known as Selangor F.C. II), is a professional Malaysian football reserve team club of Selangor, based in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The club are nicknamed the Young Giants. Founded in 1967 as part of the sports and recreation club for the Selangor State Development Corporation (Malay : Kelab Sukan dan Rekreasi Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor) (KSR PKNS). The club were formerly known as PKNS FC when the club was merged with the Football Association of Selangor, then converted into a reserve team (as part of the Malaysian Football League's feeder club regulations) under Selangor first team and were rebranded as Selangor II before later than known as a Selangor U-23. The club are currently playing in the MFL Cup and play their home games at UiTM Stadium with a 10,000-seater capacity.

Unlike in England, reserve teams in Malaysia play in the same football pyramid as their first team rather than a separate system. However, reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their first team. Therefore, the team is ineligible for promotion to the Malaysia Super League, the division in which their parent side competes in. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter cup competitions other than the Malaysia Challenge Cup.

The team is officially known as Selangor U-23 on the club's official promotion and website, as the Malaysian Football League, the governing body of the top two divisions in the Malaysian football league system has rules that prohibits reserve teams from having different names than their parent team.

History

1967–2003: Beginnings

The Selangor State Development Corporation (Malay : Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor) (PKNS) have been involved in the sporting arena since 1967 through the establishment of its Sports and Recreation Club within the organization for their staff to be involved in sports and recreational activities. The PKNS Sports and Recreation Club football team had its own staff as footballers in the early stages. The football team made its name between the 1970s to 1980s as one of the forces in the state of Selangor that competed in the Selangor League at state-level and the Malaysia FAM Cup at the national level with famous players like Mokhtar Dahari, R. Arumugam, K. Rajagopal, Reduan Abdullah and Santokh Singh, who also served as PKNS' staff. The Malaysia FAM Cup was opened to club teams from 1974 onwards while the Malaysia Cup was restricted to state teams, but some PKNS players appeared in both competitions. ^[1]

The club's involvement in football has seen many achievements. The club has produced a number of football players that not only succeeded at club level but also at state, national and international levels. Their routine was to work in the day and in the evening to practice for the company football club to play in state league and Malaysia FAM Cup games, with the possibility of also playing for the state of Selangor in the Malaysia Cup. PKNS' Sport and Recreational Club first won the Malaysia FAM Cup together with Negeri Sembilan Indians in 1978 after both teams were tied 0-0. The following year, the club beat Hong Chin 2–1 to win the Malaysia FAM Cup. Among the players that made up this squad were K. Rajagobal, Mokhtar Dahari, Santokh Singh and R. Arumugam who were also regular fixtures of the Selangor state team.

2004–2015: As PKNS Football Club

After winning the Malaysia FAM Cup in 2003, the club was formed as a professional football team known as PKNS Football Club (PKNS FC) in 2004 to compete in the newly formed Malaysia Premier League which was organized by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The club became a regular in the league after they achieved promotion to the league in 2004 as champions of the Malaysia FAM Cup the previous year, staying in the division for the rest of the 2000s. ^[2]

In 2012, PKNS extended its wings to the Malaysia Super League after winning the Malaysia Premier League in the 2011 season. The organization had allocated a sum of money to PKNS in order to support all age level teams that are under the PKNS banner. These included the first team in the Malaysia Super League, the Under-21 team in the President Cup, an amateur team in the Selangor League, as well as the Under-17 team in the KPM-FAM Youth Cup. The club played in the country's top division league, the Malaysia Super League for several seasons before being relegated to the Malaysia Premier League in the 2014 season. But after spending two years in the Malaysia Premier League, the club achieved promotion back to the Malaysia Super League after finishing second in 2016.

2016–2019: Privatization of PKNS Football Club

As part of the privatization effort by the Malaysian Football League (MFL), the organization body and company that operates and runs the Malaysian League, to transform and move Malaysian football forward. ^{[3] [4]} Every club in the Malaysia Super League and the Malaysia Premier League were required to obtain a Football Association of Malaysia Club Licensing Regulations (FAM CLR) license in order to compete in the Malaysian League. The team was incorporated as a private company under the name of PKNS Sports Sdn Bhd.

In 2016, PKNS left its affiliation with the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) in order to comply with the licensing requirement. ^[5] The club however chose to affiliate itself with the Selangor Malays Football Association in order to secure its future and along with its nine other youth teams during the conflict between itself and the FAS when the FAS decided to halt PKNS's participation in the 2017 Malaysia Super League. ^{[3] [6]} It was clarified by the FAM that PKNS did not need to affiliate itself with any other FAM affiliates to compete in any competition managed by the MFL. ^[4]

The club obtained the FAM CLR License to play in the 2018 Malaysia Super League and also obtained the AFC Club License and was eligible to play in either the 2018 AFC Champions League or the 2018 AFC Cup if the club qualified on merit. In 2019, the club were also able to obtain all club licenses as the previous season. At the end of the 2019 season, PKNS FC were then converted as a reserve team (as part of the feeder club regulations in the Malaysian Football League) under Selangor first team and were rebranded as Selangor II.

2020: Merging with Selangor Football Club

Main article: Selangor F.C. § Brand and Identity

The team is now officially known as Selangor II (before later than known as a Selangor U-23) as part of the first team's project to create a new DNA for football in Selangor as well as a developmental path for the other reserve sides under the Selangor first team banner, with the guidance of Michael Feichtenbeiner who also acts as the parent club's technical director. Starting from the 2020 season, as part of the restructuring and rebranding as Selangor II, the team kits will be the same as first team. The kits are produced by the Spanish sportswear company, Joma and are officially sponsored by Joma Malaysia.

Brand and identity

Main article: Selangor F.C. § Brand and Identity

Crest and colours

The original emblem that was first created in 1936 was a result of the merger between the Selangor Football Association (SFA) and Selangor Association Football League (SAFL) that contained the symbol of the wildebeest (gaurus). In the early-1970s, the FA of Selangor's symbol, the head of the wildebeest, was replaced with the Flag and coat of arms of Selangor and the English lettering in the FA of Selangor emblem was written in Malay.

The crest is shaped like a shield, while the emblem on the upper part of the crest is derived from the Selangor State Council coat of arms. The colour characteristics on the crest is the main colour of the state of Selangor which symbolizes Bravery for red and Royalty for yellow. ^[7] Both of these colors are linked to the state flag which follows the identity of Selangor. The crest is then completed by featuring the state's blazon on the top of it.

Main team

• Selangor

Reserve Teams

• Selangor III

• Selangor IV

Kits

From the 2000s, the team kit was manufactured by various companies including Nike, Adidas, Lotto and Kappa.

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2004	Adidas	Dunhill
2005		TM Net
2005–06
2006–07
2007-08		Celcom
2009	Nike	Streamyx
2010	wanga	TM
2011	Kappa	PKNS
2012–2014	Lotto
2015–2018	Kappa
2019	Lotto
2020–2023	Joma [8]	PKNS & Vizione

Grounds

Stadium

Main article: UiTM Stadium

See also: Shah Alam Stadium, Petaling Jaya Stadium, and MP Selayang Stadium

Training Centre

Main article: Selangor F.C. § Training Centre

Selangor FC Training Centre, Selangor U-23's current training ground, shared with main team Selangor

The training facility is located at SUK Sports Complex, Section 5, Shah Alam. The 400,000 square feet training centre named the Selangor FC Training Centre (who formerly known as Selangor FA Training Center) was officiated by the president of the club, Tengku Amir Shah in a ceremony attended by the Menteri Besar of Selangor Amirudin Shari, club sponsors, association Exco members and media representatives on 24 July 2019. The facility also has an office complex for the management staff and technical staff, two FIFA sized pitches, gymnasium, physio treatment area, a player lounge, changing room, pantry, etc. ^[9]

Vizione Holdings Berhad, a strategic partner to Selangor was the biggest contributor to the construction of the RM1.5 million facility. ^[9]

Players

Current squad

Main article: Selangor F.C.

As of 18 January 2023 ^[10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   MAS Al-Faiz Zula'aminU23 — GK   MAS Daniel AkmalU23 — GK   MAS Aizul HakimU23 — DF   MAS Brandon LiewU23 4 DF   MAS Aiman HakimiU23 28 DF   MAS Faiz AmerU23 30 DF   MAS Raimi ShamsulU23 — DF   MAS Fakrul FareezU23 — DF   MAS Daniel EdzuanU23 — DF   MAS Alif FarhanU23 — DF   MAS Danish IrfanU23 — DF   MAS Zharif ZainiU23 — MF   MAS Azannis AdzriU23

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 MF   MAS Muhammad Abu Khalil U23 71 MF   MAS Haiqal HaqeemiU23 — MF   MAS Haziq ZakiU23 — MF   MAS Izrin IbrahimU23 — MF   MAS Haykal DanishU23 — MF   MAS Rohisham HaiqalU23 — MF   MAS Adam HaikalU23 — MF   MAS Khairi SuffianU23 — MF   MAS Akid ZamriU23 — FW   MAS Adim MuzahhirU23 31 FW   MAS Harry DanishU23 36 FW   MAS Abdul Rahman DaudU23 76 FW   MAS Aliff Izwan U23

Remarks:
^I These players are registered as International player.
^A These players are registered as Asian player.
^S These players are registered as ASEAN player.
^U23 These players are registered as Under-23 player.
^U18 These players are registered as Under-18 player.

Management team

As of 18 January 2023 ^[10]

Position	Name
Head Coach	Abdifitaah Hassan
Assistant Head Coach	Nazliazmi Nasir
	Shaiful Nizam
Goalkeeping Coach	Nasril Nourdin
Fitness Coach	Khairal Afiq
Assistant Fitness Coach	Fariq Rahman
Team doctor	Wazien Wafa
Physiotherapist	Afiq Jamarudin
Team Coordinator	Raja Fazureen
Team Analyst	Rafiudin Sa'ari
Kitman	Afif Fahmi
Masseur	Nazmi Mohd
	Faizwan Malek
Nutritionist	Exmeralda Kuyun

Managerial history

Manager

Years	Name	Notes
2003–2006	Azmi Adnan
2007–2012	Yaacob Jailani
2013	Azmi Adnan
2014–2019	Mahfizul Rusydin Abdul Rashid
2020–present	Sugumaran Parthasarathy

Head coach

Years	Name	Notes
2003–2008	Mohd Zaki Sheikh Ahmad
2006–2008	Ismail Ibrahim
2008	K. Gunalan
2009–2013	Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
2014	Wan Jamak Wan Hassan
2015–2017	E. Elavarasan	Until 7 July 2017
2017	Adam Abdullah	As a caretaker from 8 July 2017 until 16 July 2017
2017	Sven Gartung	From 17 July 2017 until 21 November 2017
2017–2019	K. Rajagopal [11]	From 22 November 2017
2019–2022	Michael Feichtenbeiner
2023–	Abdifitaah Hassan

Affiliated

The club affiliated and collaborates to the Football Association of Selangor.

Season by season record

  1st or Champions  2nd or Runner-up  3rd place  Promotion  Relegation

Season	Domestics League										Domestics Cup		Top goalscorer
Division	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	D	Pts	Pos	FA Cup Founded: 1990	Malaysia Cup / Challenge Cup	Name	Goals	Notes
2003	Malaysia FAM League									1st
2004	Malaysia Premier League	24	13	4	7	47	35	+12	43	6th			Roman Chmelo	10	Goals count not include domestics cup competition
2005	Malaysia Premier League	21	13	2	6	46	25	+21	41	6th			Roman Chmelo / Rudie Ramli	13	Goals count not include domestics cup competition
2006	Malaysia Premier League	21	11	6	4	39	25	+14	39	4th
2007	Malaysia Premier League	20	9	5	6	29	27	+2	32	3rd	Quarter-finals
2008	Malaysia Premier League	24	5	7	12	27	38	-11	22	11th	First round
2009	Malaysia Premier League	24	8	7	9	20	24	-4	31	7th	First round	Not qualified
2010	Malaysia Premier League	22	14	3	5	56	18		45	3rd	Second round	Group stage	Zamri Hassan	20
2011	Malaysia Premier League	22	18	3	1	51	7		57	1st	Second round	Group stage	Khairul Akhyar	11
2012	Malaysia Super League	26	8	11	7	35	35		35	7th	First round	Group stage	Michaël Niçoise	7
2013	Malaysia Super League	22	8	4	10	34	34		28	8th	Second round	Quarter-finals	Patrick Wleh	14
2014	Malaysia Super League	22	4	6	12	24	40		18	12th	Quarter-finals	Not qualified	Patrick Wleh	4
2015	Malaysia Premier League	22	11	8	3	41	22		41	4th	First round	Quarter-finals	Gabriel Guerra	16
2016	Malaysia Premier League	22	15	3	4	49	25		48	2nd	Runners-up	Quarter-finals	Gabriel Guerra / Juan Cobelli	15
2017	Malaysia Super League	22	6	7	9	33	38		25	7th	Second round	Group stage	Patrick Wleh	8
2018	Malaysia Super League	22	10	5	7	37	29		35	3rd	Semi-finals	Quarter-finals	Bruno Matos / Rafael Ramazotti	7
2019	Malaysia Super League	22	5	6	11	37	28	-1	21	9th	Quarter-finals	Group stage	Kpah Sherman	17
2020	Malaysia Premier League	11	4	1	6	17	23	-6	13	7th	Cancelled [lower-alpha 1]		Danial Asri	6

1. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours

Domestic

League

• Malaysia Premier League
  • Winners (1): 2011
  • Runners-up (1): 2016
• Malaysia FAM League
  • Winners (3): 1978, 1979, 2003

Cups

• Malaysia FA Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2016

Source: ^[12]

References

1. "PKNS FC | Laman Web Rasmi". Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
2. "Malaysia - List of Cup Winners". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
3. "PKNS get endorsement but new affiliation up for scrutiny | FourFourTwo". Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
4. "Fam FMLLP Buat Kelakar Isu PKNS Fas | Blog - BM | Stadium Astro". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
5. "PKNS Tidak Bernaung Di Bawah FAS". Stadiumastro.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
6. "FAS tidak sokong penyertaan PKNS FC dalam Liga M | Stadium Astro". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
7. "Latar Belakang Jata Negara & Bendera Negeri Malaysia: Latar Belakang Bendera dan Lambang Negeri-Negeri Malaysia". Sivik2010.blogspot.com. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
8. "SFC Extended Partnership With Joma Until 2023". selangorfc.com. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
9. "FA Selangor Launches New Facility in Shah Alam Worth RM1.5 Million". www.semuanyabola.com. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
10. "Selangor FC Development Squad Update". selangorfc.com. Selangor FC. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
11. "'King Gobal' Diumumkan Sebagai Jurulatih Baharu PKNS FC". Semuanyabola.com. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
12. "Sejarah Pencapaian PKNS FC". Selangorpknsfc.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

External links

• FA Selangor (official website)