Malaysian League
| Country | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded |
1989 (Amateur) 1989 (Semi-Pro) 1994 (Professional League) 2004 (Malaysia Super League, Malaysia Premier League & Malaysia FAM League) |
| Divisions | 1st, 2nd & 3rd |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1, 2 & 3 |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Malaysia Cup Malaysia FA Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Cup |
M.League is the highest football leagues competitions in Malaysian. It consists of 3 leagues competitions which are Malaysia Super League, Malaysia Premier League and Malaysia FAM League.
Introduction
There are 3 major league which are Malaysia Super League, Malaysia Premier League and Malaysia FAM League to be won by the teams in Malaysia football league competitions.
History
League championships
Malaysia Super League
The Malaysia Super League (Liga Super Malaysia) is a Malaysian professional league for association football state teams and clubs. It is at the top flight of the Malaysian football league system and it is managed by Malaysia Super League Sdn. Bhd., under supervision of the F.A.M.. The league is contested between 12 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Malaysian Premier League. The 12 clubs participating in this top flight league need to pass a set of requirements and verification process, primarily related to professionalism and infrastructure feasibility.
It was previously known as the Semi-Pro League from 1989 to 1993 and the Malaysian League (Liga-M) from 1993 to 2004. It is currently sponsored by Astro and therefore officially known as the Astro Malaysia Super League. The competition formed in 2004 following the decision by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to privatize the league, but it was not fully privatized. As a result, MSL Sendirian Berhad (or MSL Proprietary Limited) was created to oversee the marketing aspects of the league.
Since 1979, a total of 11 clubs have been crowned champions of Malaysia's top tier football league. Since the inception of the Super League in 2004, six teams have won the title: Kedah FA (2 titles), Selangor FA (2), Kelantan FA (2), Pahang FA (1), Perlis FA (1), Negeri Sembilan FA (1) and LionsXII, (1).
The current champion is LionsXII, who won the 2013 season. It is their first league title since Singapore sent a representative to the MSL in 2012 since winning the Malaysian League in 1994.
A football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football assiociations was first held in Malaysia in 1979. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. It was not until 1982 that a League Cup was introduced to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions. Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right.
Initially the only teams only 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). In recent years, top Malaysian club teams have also been admitted to the league competition.
Between 1989 to 1993 and 1998 to 2003, the football league in Malaysia was divided into two levels:
- First Division: Malaysia Premier 1 League
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier 2 League
Between 1994 to 1997, there was no second level league as the top two leagues were combined.
Between 2004 to 2006, the professional football league in Malaysia was divided into 2 levels and 2 groups:
- First Division: Malaysia Super League
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group A
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group B
Between 2007 until now, the professional football league in Malaysia was only divided into 2 levels when Malaysia Premier League combined into 1 level:
- First Division: Malaysia Super League
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier League
Malaysia Premier League
The Malaysia Premier League (Liga Perdana Malaysia) is the second-tier football league in Malaysia. The league is currently named Astro Malaysia Premier League (Astro Liga Perdana Malaysia in Malay). The league was previously called the TM Malaysia Premier League because of the sponsorship of Telekom Malaysia, But it was changed after Astro became the league sponsors replacing Telekom Malaysia.
Between 1998 to 2003, the second-tier league existed as the Malaysia Premier Two League, below the top-flight Malaysia Premier One League. In 2004, it was relaunched as the Malaysia Premier League, and the top-tier league was renamed the Malaysia Super League.
Between 2004 and 2006, the professional football league in Malaysia was divided into three groups:
- First Division: Malaysia Super League
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group A
- Second Division: Malaysia Premier League Group B
At the end of the season, the top team from each group of the Premier League was promoted to the Malaysia Super League. The teams which finished bottom of each group were relegated to the Malaysia FAM League. The two group champions also faced-off to determine the Malaysia Premier League Championship.
For the 2006-07 season, the Malaysia Premier League was reorganised into a single league of 11 teams instead of being a competition involving two separate groups of teams.
In 2010, The Football Association of Malaysia released a new logo for the 2011 season, followed by another new logo made from the league sponsor, Astro for the 2012 season.[1]
Malaysia FAM League
The Malaysia FAM League (formerly known as Malaysia FAM Cup) is the third-tier football league in Malaysia. The tournament used to be a cup format, but it changed 2008 as it was held as a league tournament and changing to its current name.
The league was first held in 1952. The current champion is Penang FA after defeating Shahzan Muda 1-0 to win the league for the fifth time.
Malaysia FAM Cup was established in 1952 as a secondary knockout competition to the more prestigious Malaya Cup, the competition were held between the state teams including Singapore, Police, Army, and Prisons Department of Malaysia in its early days. Starting in 1974, the state teams were barred from entering the competition and only the club sides could enter.
With the advent of two-league Semi-Pro League in 1989, Malaysia FAM Cup becomes 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 M-League were introduced for the first time in 1997, Johor FC and NS Chempaka FC the first two sides to be promoted that year. A further changes were made in 2008 to abolish the knockout stages and introduce a double round-robin league format. The tournament in now known as Malaysia FAM League.[2]
Records
Below are the record of teams in Malaysian football competitions since 1921 till present. Only active teams will be list.
| Team | Malaysia Super League | Malaysia Premier League | Malaysia FAM League | Malaysia FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Malaysia Charity Shield | AFC Cup | AFC Champions League | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Selangor FA | 7 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 8 | - | - | 60 |
 Singapore FA/LionsXII | 5 | - | - | 2 | 24 | 1 | - | - | 32 |
 Perak FA | 2 | - | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | - | - | 17 |
 Kedah FA | 3 | 3 | - | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 15 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Penang FA | 3 | - | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 14 |
 Kuala Lumpur FA | 2 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 11 |
 Pahang FA | 5 | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 10 |
 Kelantan FA | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 10 |
 Johor FA | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
 Perlis FA | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
 Terengganu FA | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
 Negeri Sembilan FA | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
 Sarawak FA | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
 Sabah FA | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
 Malacca FA | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| PDRM FA | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Johor FC | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
 Sime Darby FC | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| ATM FA | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
- Table shows teams' wins in all competitions
- Numbers in bracket shows runner-up finishes in competitions
- Although the FA of Malaysia has not recognised retrospectively the league winners for 1979–1981, these are included for statistical comparison.
- The figures in bold represent the most times this competition has been won by the team
- Singapore FA is replaced by LionsXII to represent Singapore in 2012.
Hall of Fame
League championship
3 Major Competition (1989-Current)
Great honours
Great honours are titled for the team who won 2 trophies (double) and 3 trophies (treble) in the same season. It covers Malaysia Super League, Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.
Treble
See The Double and The Treble
| Team | Year | Winning titles |
|---|---|---|
| Kedah FA | 2006-07 | Super League, Malaysia FA Cup, Malaysia Cup |
| Kedah FA | 2007-08 | Super League, Malaysia FA Cup, Malaysia Cup |
| Kelantan FA | 2012 | Super League, Malaysia FA Cup, Malaysia Cup |
Double
| Team | Year | Winning titles |
|---|---|---|
| Selangor FA | 2009 | Super League, FA Cup |
| Selangor FA | 2005 | FA Cup, Malaysia Cup |
| Selangor FA | 1997 | Malaysia Division 1, Malaysia Cup |
| Singapore FA | 1994 | Malaysia Division 1, Malaysia Cup |
| Kedah FA | 1993 | Malaysia Division 1, Malaysia Cup |
| Pahang FA | 1992 | Malaysia Division 1, Malaysia Cup |
| Johor FA | 1991 | Malaysia Division 1, Malaysia Cup |
See also
- Malaysia Super League
- Malaysia Premier League
- Malaysia FA Cup
- Malaysia Cup
- FAM Football Awards
External links
- Football Association of Malaysia
- RSSSF.com: Malaysia - List of Champions
- SoccerDB: Malaysia Super League
- Malaysian Football Fan Club
- Malaysia League Data
References
- ↑ MSL perkenal dua logo baru Liga M (MALAY) Retrieved at 31 December 2011
- ↑ http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/kl-s-spa-set-the-pace-1.82242
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