MFL Cup
{{Short description|Football league in Malaysia}}
{{Infobox football league
| name = MFL Cup
| logo = Malaysia_MFL_Cup.png
| pixels = 125px
| organiser = Malaysian Football League
| confed = AFC
| country = Malaysia
| founded = {{start date and age|df=yes|2023|3}}
| teams = 15
| champions = Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C.
Terengganu II (1st title)
| most_champs = Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C.
Terengganu II (1 title)
| top goalscorer = Ebenezer Assifuah (16)
| current = 2024–25 MFL Cup
| website = {{URL|https://www.malaysianfootballleague.com/}}
|folded=March 2025}}
The MFL Cup ({{langx|ms|Piala MFL}}) is the reserve team football league for the Malaysia Super League members.{{cite web|url=https://sukanz.com/202322135/|title=127 matches will be live on youtube |publisher=sukanz.com|date=22 March 2023}} It is organized by Malaysian Football League (MFL). It was founded in 2023 and is the only reserve team league under the Malaysian football league system.
Terengganu II are the inaugural champions of the MFL Cup, having beaten Johor Darul Ta'zim II 1–0 in the 2023 final.
History
= Beginnings =
The first MFL Cup took place during the 2023 season, featuring fifteen teams. These teams were divided in group A consisting of eight teams, and Group B consisting of seven teams. Each team was drawn from the Central Zone, North, South, East, Borneo, and one State team. The inaugural match of the MFL Cup was held on March 2, where Johor Darul Ta'zim II secured a 1–0 victory over Penang at the Pasir Gudang Corporation Stadium. Although Aysar Hadi was the sole goalscorer in that match, he was not the first player to score in the MFL Cup. The honor went to Harith Najwan of the FAM-MSN Project in a match against PDRM. Terengganu II ultimately won the first MFL Cup by defeating Johor Darul Ta'zim II 1–0 in the final.
Competition format
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) introduced another change involving the MFL Cup as the 2024–25 season featured a one-group league format, instead of the two-group format used in the 2023 MFL Cup season.
The governing body explained that the league's format change was made after receiving a request from the participants and as the initiative to strengthen the under-23 group of players.
The MFL has also allowed a quota of 5 over-age players, including 3 foreigners in each team. A maximum of three foreign players and two over-age players can play at the same time.{{cite web|url=https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/243138/berita/sukan/piala-mfl-platform-perkasa-skuad-bawah-23-tahun|title=format Piala MFL|date=31 January 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/sukan/bola/2024/01/1207268/format-baharu-piala-mfl|title=Format baharu Piala MFL|date=January 31, 2024}}
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ !From !To !Teams !Match-weeks !Group format !Final |
colspan="2" |2023
|15 |21 |{{yes C}} |{{yes C}} |
2024–25
|Present |13 |22 |{{no X}} |{{no X}} |
Teams
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+Overview of MFL Cup current teams !Team !Position in 2023 !First season !Titles !Last title |
align=left|Johor Darul Ta'zim II
|2nd |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Kedah Darul Aman B
|8th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Kelantan Darul Naim
|15th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Kuala Lumpur City Extension
|6th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Kuching City
|12th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Negeri Sembilan
|10th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|PDRM
|5th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Perak II
|7th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Penang II
|9th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Sabah II
|11th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Selangor
|4th |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Sri Pahang
|3rd |2023 |0 |{{n/a}} |
align=left|Terengganu II
|1st |2023 |1 |2023 |
=Former teams=
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+Overview of MFL Cup former teams !Team !First season !Final season |
align=left|FAM-MSN Project
|2023 |2023 |
align=left|Kelantan
|2023 |2023 |
Stadiums and locations
File:Aerial View of Kuala Lumpur Stadium.png in Kuala Lumpur]]
File:KotaKinabalu Sabah LikasStadium-11.jpg in Kota Kinabalu]]
class="wikitable sortable"
!Team !Location !Stadium !Capacity |
Johor Darul Ta'zim II
|Pasir Gudang Corporation Stadium |align=center|15,000 |
Kedah Darul Aman B
|align=center|32,387 |
Kelantan Darul Naim
|align=center|22,000 |
Kuala Lumpur City Extension
|align=center|18,000 |
Kuching City
|align=center|26,000 |
Negeri Sembilan
|Tampin Mini Stadium |align=center|3,000 |
PDRM
|align=center|16,000 |
Perak II
|Ipoh |align=center|42,500 |
Penang II
|align=center|25,000 |
Sabah II
|align=center|35,000 |
|Selangor
|align=center|10,000 |
|Sri Pahang
|align=center|10,000 |
Terengganu II
|Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium |align=center|15,000 |
Head coaches
The current head coaches in MFL Cup are:
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! !Head coach !Team |
{{flagicon|ESP}}
|Juan Miguel Munoz |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|BLR}}
|Oleg Kuzmianok |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|MAS}}
|PDRM |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
{{flagicon|MAS}}
|Johnny Dominicus |
{{flagicon|MAS}}
|Abdifitaah Hassan |
{{flagicon|MAS}}
|Yazeed Hamzah |
{{flagicon|MAS}} |
=Winning coaches=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ !Season !Winning coach !Team |
align=center|2023
!scope="row"|{{flagicon|MAS}} Hairuddin Omar |
Results
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+List of MFL Cup finals !Season !Winner !Score !Runner-up !Venue !Attendance !{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
scope="row" style="text-align:center"|2023
|align=center|1–0 |align=center|3,055 |
---|
style="background:#efefef;"
| colspan=7 style="text-align:center;"| League match format |
scope="row" style="text-align:center"|2024–25
|align=center|RR | |align=center| |align=center| |
Performance by team
class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ !Team !Winners !Runners-up !Winning seasons !Runner-up seasons |
scope="row"|Johor Darul Ta'zim II
|align=center|1 |align=center|1 |2023 |
---|
scope="row"|Terengganu II
|align="center" |1 |align="center" |0 |2023 |align="center" |— |
scope="row"|Selangor II
|align=center|0 |align=center|1 |align=center|— |
Awards
=Top scorers=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ !Season !Player !Team !Goals |
align=center|2023
!scope="row"|{{flagicon|GHA}} Ebenezer Assifuah |align=center|16 |
=Man of the match (final)=
class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ !Season !Player !Team |
align=center|2023
!scope="row"|{{flagicon|MAS}} Ubaidullah Shamsul |