Football in Malaysia

{{main|History of Malaysian football}}

File:British Malaya- an account of the origin and progress of British influence in Malaya; with a specially compiled map, numerous illustrations reproduced from photographs and a frontispiece in (14581032568).jpg's capital of Kuala Lumpur, {{circa|1903}}.]]

Football arrived in Malaysia (then known as Malaya) with the British. The locals soon picked up the game, and before long, it was the country's leading sport. At the end of the 19th century, football was a part of most sports clubs in Malaya, but it did not yet have any structured competitions. Even when the Selangor Amateur Football League took shape in 1905 – which ensured proper administration and organisation – the competition was confined only to clubs in Kuala Lumpur.{{cite web|url=http://www.fam.org.my/history|title=History|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia|access-date=28 February 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.org.sg/fas/history-singapore-football|title=History of Singapore Football|publisher=Football Association of Singapore|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803212251/http://www.fas.org.sg/fas/history-singapore-football|archive-date=3 August 2014|url-status=dead}}

In January 1921, the British Royal Navy battleship {{HMS|Malaya}} called at various Malaysian ports.{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1837_2011-09-06.html|title=Malaysia Cup (football)|author=Alvin Chua|publisher=National Library Board|year=2015|access-date=28 February 2018}} During its stay, the crew competed in friendly matches of football and other sports.

Three months later, the Chief Secretary of the Federated Malay States government 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. The cup for football was then known as the Malaya Cup. The offer was accepted, and various club representatives met to organise the tournament. A Malaya Cup committee was set up, and it was decided to run the football competition in northern and southern sections. The first tournament was entrusted to be run by the Selangor Club. 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. The inaugural tournament was played by six teams and won by Singapore.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay21.html|title=Malaysia 1921|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=29 February 2012|access-date=28 February 2018}} During 1923, a newspaper described it as “by far the greatest sporting event of the year (in Malaya)”.

Football began to spread rapidly throughout the region following the establishment of the Cup, although the composition of the teams at the time was mainly based on ethnic background.{{cite book|author=Ben Weinberg|title=Asia and the Future of Football: The Role of the Asian Football Confederation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkysCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT57|date=22 May 2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-57631-0|pages=57–}}{{cite journal|title=The HMS Malaya Cup Football League, 1921–1941: Towards the Institutionalization of Football in British Malaya|author1=Lim Peng Han|author2=Mohd Salleh Aman|journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport|via=Taylor & Francis|year=2018|volume=34|issue=17|pages=1981–2007|doi=10.1080/09523367.2018.1495194|s2cid=150098973}}{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19091230-1.2.86.1|title=Malaya Football Association|work=The Straits Times|publisher=National Library Board|date=30 December 1909|access-date=21 July 2019|page=8}} In British Borneo, football had also become the most popular choice of sport in Malay schools.{{cite book|title=British Borneo year book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2HpAAAAMAAJ|year=1952|publisher=Kho Chong Soo}}

In 1933, Association football of Malaysia was founded as Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) which managed the local football scene at that time.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=MAS/about.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617214306/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=mas/about.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 June 2015|title=Association Information [Football Association of Malaysia]|publisher=FIFA|access-date=28 February 2018}} By 1954, FAM joined FIFA as a member of the AFC.

Malaysia FAM Cup was established in 1952 as a secondary knockout competition to the more prestigious Malaya Cup. The competition was held between state teams including Singapore, Police, Army, and Prisons Department of Malaysia in its early days.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay52.html|title=Malaysia 1952|author=Karel Stokkermans|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=11 January 2018|access-date=28 February 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malaycuphist.html|title=FA Cup|author1=Atsushi Fujioka|author2=Erik Garin|author3=Mikael Jönsson|author4=Hans Schöggl|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=11 January 2018|access-date=28 February 2018}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay59.html|title=Malaysia 1959|author=Karel Stokkermans|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=18 January 2018|access-date=28 February 2018}} A new trophy was inaugurated in 1967, and since then, the competition has been known as the Piala Malaysia.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay67.html|title=Malaysia 1967|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=29 February 2012|access-date=28 February 2018}}

Starting in 1974, state teams were barred from entering the FAM Cup competition, and only club sides could enter.

This football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football associations was first held in Malaysia in 1979.{{cite journal|title=The demand for Semi-Pro League football in Malaysia 1989–91: a panel data approach|author1=Peter Wilson|author2=Benson Sim|journal=Applied Economics|date=28 July 2006|pages=131–138|volume=27|doi=10.1080/00036849500000015}} When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Piala Malaysia. A one-round league competition was introduced in Malaysia in 1979.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay79.html|title=Malaysia 1979|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=29 February 2012|access-date=28 February 2018}} The top four teams at the end of the league will face off in two semi-finals before the winners make it to the finals. In 1981, the quarter-finals stage were introduced. When the league began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the Piala Malaysia. However, it was not until 1982 that a League Cup was introduced to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions, which then officially started the era of nationwide-level amateur football league in Malaysia.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay82.html|title=Malaysia 1982|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=29 February 2012|access-date=28 February 2018}} Since then, the Piala Malaysia has been held after the conclusion of the league each year, with only the best-performing teams in the league qualifying for the Piala Malaysia.

Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right. From 1982 until 1988, the league was an amateur status and continued its purpose as a qualifying round for Piala Malaysia, and only in 1989 did it change to a new format as the Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League (Liga Semi-Pro) by FAM as a 'halfway house' towards full 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 neighbouring 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 Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts and has not been involved since).

The inaugural season of Liga Semi-Pro consisted of nine teams in Division 1 and eight teams in Division 2 with a total of 17 teams participating. The Malaysian Police joined Division 2 in 1990.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay89.html|title=Malaysia 1989|author=Ian King|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=28 September 2003|access-date=28 February 2018}} 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 1 and the Division 2 champions and runners-up will be involved in the Piala Malaysia. Piala Malaysia was played in the quarter-final stage, scheduled for November after the league was finished. The Piala Malaysia quarter-final and semi-final matches will be played on a home and away basis.

In 1992, FAM created another amateur league for local clubs in Malaysia to compete in, which is called the Liga Nasional.{{cite web|url=http://www.lbr.my/posts/74|title=Amanat Tengku Abdullah|language=ms|publisher=Liga Bolasepak Rakyat|date=27 May 2016|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604232629/http://www.lbr.my/posts/74|archive-date=4 June 2016|url-status=dead}} The league was managed by FAM outside entity, Super Club Sdn. Bhd. Some of the clubs that compete in the league are Hong Chin, Muar FA, PKNK from Kedah, DBKL, PKNS, BSN, LPN, BBMB, Proton, PPC and PKENJ. Unfortunately, the league only ran for one season before it folded. Some of the clubs then evolved and joined the main league, such as PKENJ, which became JCorp and is now JDT.

With the advent of the two-league Liga Semi-Pro in 1989, the FAM Cup became the third-tier competition. 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, with Johor FC and NS Chempaka FC the first two sides to be promoted that year.

Liga Semi-Pro was the nation's top-tier league until it was succeeded by the formation of Malaysia's first professional football league, the Liga Perdana in 1994 by the Football Association of Malaysia.

In 1998, Liga Perdana was divided into two divisions consisting of Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2.{{cite web|url=http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0111&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sukan&pg=sp_01.htm|title=Pemain Malaysia bebas ke Brunei|language=ms|work=Bernama|publisher=Utusan Malaysia|date=11 January 1998|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302113751/http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0111&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sukan&pg=sp_01.htm|archive-date=2 March 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0613&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sukan&pg=sp_03.htm|title=Demam Piala Dunia rasuk Liga Perdana|author=Zainu'l Azhar Ash'ari|language=ms|work=Utusan Malaysia|date=13 June 1998|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302112509/http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0613&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sukan&pg=sp_03.htm|archive-date=2 March 2018|url-status=dead}} During this time both of the division was still just referred as Malaysian League as a whole.

During 1998, Liga Perdana 1 consisted of 12 teams, while Liga Perdana 2 had 8 teams. 10 teams that previously qualified for Piala Malaysia, which played in the 1997 Liga Premier, were automatically qualified for Liga Perdana 1. The other two spots were filled by a playoff round between the 5 lowest teams in the 1997 Liga Premier and the Malaysian Olympic football team. The lowest four teams from the playoff round were then put into Liga Perdana 2 alongside Police, Malaysia Military, Negeri Sembilan Chempaka F.C., and PKN Johor. At this time, the league still consisted of a semi-pro team, where each team was allowed to register 25 players, with 12 players being professionals in Liga Perdana 1 and a minimum of six professional players in Liga Perdana 2.

Both leagues continued until 2003, when Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) decided to privatise the league for the 2004 season onwards, when the Liga Super was formed. Teams in Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2 were then put through a qualification and playoff to be promoted into Liga Super. Teams that failed the qualification were put into a new second-tier league Liga Premier.

Further changes were made to the Malaysia FAM Cup in 2008 when the knockout stages were abolished and the double round-robin league format was introduced. The tournament is now known as the Malaysia FAM League.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/malay08.html|title=Malaysia 2007/08|author=Hamdan Saaid|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=18 July 2003|access-date=28 February 2018}}

The most significant successes of the national team of Malaysia have 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 42 on aggregate in the final to capture the country's first major international football title.

Malaysia had top players, such as the Mokhtar Dahari and Sabah's Hassan Sani and James Wong, which led Malaysia into their golden age from 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 of Malaya from the 1950s until the 1960s. Malaysia's 15–1 victory over the Philippines in 1962 is currently the record for the highest win for the national team. In the current generation, Mohd Safee Mohd Sali and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha are considered by Malaysians to be their best striker pair.

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 rivals on the international stage are their geographical neighbours, 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 2010 and other small competitions while improving at the same time.

{{Main|Malaysian football league system}}

There are several cup competitions for clubs at different levels of the football pyramid. The two major cup competitions are the Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup.

• The Malaysia Cup, first held in 1921, is the oldest national cup competition in Asia. Only qualified teams from the top 2 levels of the football pyramid can enter.
• The Piala Presiden is the developmental football competition in Malaysia for under-21 players. Since its inception, in 1985, the Piala Presiden has been the major tournament for under-21 and under-23 players. In 2009, the format of the competition was changed with only under-20 players eligible to be fielded for the tournament. In 2015 the competition reverted to the original format with under-21 players and three over age players eligible to play.{{cite web|url=https://www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my/standing/presiden|title=Kedudukan Pasukan Piala Presiden|language=ms|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia Management Database|year=2017|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=2 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202171350/https://www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my/standing/presiden|url-status=dead}}
• The Piala Belia is the developmental competition for under-18 players. Since its inception in 2008 to 2011, the competition was combined with Piala Presiden. In 2015 the format of the competition changed to the league format.{{cite web|url=https://pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my/kedudukan/kpialabelia2015|title=Kedudukan Pasukan Piala Belia|language=ms|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia Management Database|year=2015|access-date=4 December 2017}}
• The Malaysia Challenge Cup, first held in 2018, is for teams that failed to qualify for the Malaysia Cup from the top 2 levels of the football pyramid.
• The Malaysia FA Cup, first held in 1990, is a national cup competition in the world. Teams from all levels of the football pyramid may enter.
• The Piala Sumbangsih (also known as Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah) is a single match Charity Cup played between the Malaysia Cup winners and the Super League champions at the start of a Super league and Premier League season.

• Pestabola Merdeka – a football tournament held in Malaysia to honour the Independence Day. The competition is Asia's oldest football tournament which invited football playing nations to compete since 1957.{{cite web|url=http://www.nst.com.my/sports/soccer/glory-beckons-malaysia-1.350803|title=Glory beckons Malaysia|author=Ajitpal Singh|publisher=New Straits Times|date=7 September 2013|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908002123/https://www.nst.com.my/sports/soccer/glory-beckons-malaysia-1.350803|archive-date=8 September 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.malaysia.or.kr/asapro/board/show.htm?bn=board07&categoryValue=0&jk=81&stSLT=count&thisPage=86&startTextId=850&buffer=3801&searchTemp=&srchValue=&fmlid=2990&pkid=2943|title="Hari Merdeka" Observed in Seoul|author=Ted Gim|work=The Seoul Times|publisher=malaysia.or.kr|date=2 September 2008|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220205107/http://www.malaysia.or.kr/asapro/board/show.htm?bn=board07&categoryValue=0&jk=81&stSLT=count&thisPage=86&startTextId=850&buffer=3801&searchTemp=&srchValue=&fmlid=2990&pkid=2943|archive-date=20 December 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|title=Asiaweek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WytBAQAAIAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Asiaweek Limited}}

Clubs who do well in either the Super League, Piala FA or League Cup can qualify to compete in various AFC-organised Asian-wide competitions in the following season. The number of Malaysia teams playing in Asian in any one season can range from three to four. Currently, Malaysia is awarded the following places in Asian competitions:

{{main|Malaysia national football team}}

The Malaysia national football team represents Malaysia in international football. Malaysia is one of the national teams to have won the AFF Suzuki Cup as its currently highest international result.

{{main|Malaysia women's national football team|Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah}}

Women's football competitions are also managed by FAM. Malaysia women's football national team represents Malaysia in international women's football.

In local football scene, a woman football competition has been held in Malaysia since 1960.{{cite web|url=http://www.fam.org.my/news/sejarah-kejohanan-bola-sepak-wanita-piala-tun-sharifah-rodziah|title=Sejarah kejohanan bola sepak wanita Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|language=ms|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia|access-date=28 February 2018}} The inaugural season was competed by four teams from Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca. A competition trophy has only been introduced in 1961 which has been contributed by Straits Times.

Women Football Association of Malaysia (PBWM) was officially registered in December 1974 where the first president was the Tun Sharifah Rodziah. A proper tournament was officially held in 1976 when PBWM introduced the woman football tournament called the Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah. A new trophy was contributed by the Tunku Abdul Rahman for the inaugural tournament season. The cup format was following the Piala Malaysia format at that year where a home and away match was introduced for the tournament. A total eight teams compete including Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Pahang, Perak, Penang and Singapore.

The cup was held for consistent basis until 2004 when it was not held for 11 years and making a comeback in 2015 for the 28 edition.{{cite web|url=http://www.fam.org.my/news/sabah-tekad-pertahan-kejuaraan-piala-tun-sharifah-rodziah|title=Sabah tekad pertahan kejuaraan Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|language=ms|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia|access-date=28 February 2018}} A total of ten teams participated in the revival season of the tournament. The 2015 season was won by MIFA.{{cite web|url=http://www.utusan.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/mifa-rampas-piala-tun-sharifah-rodziah-1.122211|title=MIFA rampas Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|language=ms|work=Utusan Malaysia|date=9 August 2015|access-date=28 February 2018}} In 2016, MISC-MIFA defended their championship by winning the cup again for the second times.{{cite web|url=http://arenafutsal.my/kejohanan-bola-sepak-wanita-piala-tun-sharifah-rodziah-2016/|title=Kejohanan Bola Sepak Wanita Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|author=Fixo|language=ms|publisher=Arena Futsal Malaysia|year=2016|access-date=28 February 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fam.org.my/news/misc-pertahan-piala-tun-sharifah-rodziah|title=MISC pertahan Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|language=ms|publisher=Football Association of Malaysia|access-date=28 February 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2016/04/16/misc-mifa-retain-title/|title=MISC-MIFA retain Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah|author=K. Rajan|work=The Star|date=16 April 2016|access-date=28 February 2018}}

File:Hang Jebat Stadium.jpg in Melaka.]]

{{main|List of football stadiums in Malaysia}}Some of the major stadium used for various team in Malaysia League listed as follow:

• Bukit Jalil Stadium
• Shah Alam Stadium
• City Stadium (Penang)
• Merdeka Stadium
• Ipoh Stadium
• Hang Tuah Stadium
• Hang Jebat Stadium
• Larkin Stadium
• Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium
• Darul Aman Stadium
• Darul Makmur Stadium
• Sarawak Stadium
• Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium
• Tun Abdul Razak Stadium

The following articles detail the major results and events in each season since 1921, when the first organised competition, the Malaya Cup, was created. Seasons in italics are wartime seasons, when official national competition was suspended, although regional football continued.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are the four most popular Premier League clubs in Malaysia.{{cite web | url=https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/03/22/liverpool-fcs-impact-on-malaysian-football-culture/ | title=Malaysian Football Changed Under the Influence of Liverpool FC | date=22 March 2024 }}

• List of Malaysia football champions
• List of football clubs in Malaysia
• Malaysia national football team honours
• Malaysia Premier Futsal League
• Malaysia Premier Futsal League (Women)
• Malaysia national futsal team
• Malaysia women's national futsal team
• Malaysia national beach soccer team

{{reflist|2}}

{{Football in Malaysia}}

{{Football in Asia}}