Myanmar National League

Myanmar National League
Country  Myanmar
Confederation AFC
Founded 4 March 2009
First season 2009
Number of teams 12
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to MNL-2
Domestic cup(s) Charity Cup
League cup(s) Bogyoke Aung San Cup
International cup(s) AFC Cup,AFC Champions League
Current champions Yadanabon
(2014)
Most championships Yangon United
Yadanabon
(3 titles each)
TV partners MRTV-4
Website www.themnl.com
2015 Myanmar National League

The Myanmar National League (Burmese: မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which consisted only of 14 Yangon-based football clubs, with eight professional clubs representing different regions across the nation.[1] On 16 May 2009, the league launched its inaugural two-month tournament, the Myanmar National League Cup 2009 in preparation for the first full season in 2010.[2] Despite its national ambitions, the league held the MNL Cup 2009 matches in the country's two main stadiums in Yangon due to the lack of adequate facilities elsewhere. On 5 July 2009, Yadanabon FC defeated Yangon United FC in the MNL Cup final to become the first-ever MNL Champions.

The league added three clubs for the 2010 season[3] and one more club joined for the 2011 season, bringing the total to twelve clubs.[4] Two more clubs representing the Chin and Shan States will participate in the MNL season starting in January 2012.[5]

Promotion and relegation will be added by the 2014 season as the MNL looks to expand once again.[6]

History

In the past, professional football competition in Myanmar has only existed in a limited form. All premier leagues up to this point have been made up of Yangon-based football clubs, most of which were affiliated with government Ministries. It was only after 1996, when the Premier League (Burmese: ပထမတန်း) was relaunched as the Myanmar Premier League that non-government clubs were invited to join the league. Still, the league was based only in Yangon, and never caught the imagination of Burmese football fans, who follow European football with near religious fervor.

The Myanmar Football Federation sought approval from the government to launch a nationwide league in February 2008, and finally received permission to set up private clubs in December 2008. Each club was permitted to sign at most five foreign players and one foreign coach. The government granted each club tax exemptions for an initial three-year period, while each club owner must provide a minimum initial investment of K200 million (approximately US$200,000). It was expected that the annual operating cost for each club would be about K500 million (US$500,000).[1] The investment apparently covers costs such as salaries, transportation and equipment, but does not include the club stadiums, which are all nationalized.[7]

Official logo

Champions

For Burmese champions before 2009, see Myanmar Premier League.

Myanmar National League
Year Club
2009 Yadanabon[8]
2010 Yadanabon
2011 Yangon United
2012 Yangon United
2013 Yangon United
2014 Yadanabon

Stadiums and locations

Club Province Stadiums Capacity
Ayeyawady United Ayeyawady Kyaut Tie Stadium 3000
Chin United Chin Har Kharr Stadium 4000
Hantharwady United Pagoo Pagoo Stadium 4000
Kanbawza Taunggyi KBZ Stadium 4500
Magway Magway Magway Stadium 3000
Manaw Myay Kachin Swomprabon Stadium 3000
Nay Pyi Taw Nay Pyi Taw Paung Laung Stadium 15000
Rakhine United Rakhine Vaysali Stadium 5000
Yadanarbon Mandalay Bahtoo Stadium 17000
Yangon United Yangon Yangon United Sports Complex 3500
Zeyar Shwe Myay Siggai Monywa Stadium 5000
Zwegapin United Kayin Hpa-An Stadium 3000

Clubs (2015)

Club Stadium Best finish # Championships
Ayeyawady United
(formerly Delta United)		 Kyaut Tie Stadium 2nd
Hantharwady United Pagoo Stadium 6th
Kanbawza Kanbawza Stadium 2nd
Magway Magway Stadium 3rd
Manaw Myay Swomprabom Stadium 7th
Naypyidaw Paung Laung Stadium z2nd
Chin United Thuwunna Stadium z10th
Rakhine United Vaysali Stadium 10th
Yadanabon Bahtoo Stadium 1st 3 (2014, 2010, 2009)
Yangon United Yangon United Sports Complex 1st 3 (2013, 2012, 2011)
Zeya Shwe Myay Monywa Stadium 2nd
Zwegabin United Hpa-An Stadium z9th

Top Scorers

Year Nation Best scorers Team Goals
2009 Burma Yan Paing Yadanarbon 8
2009–10 Burma Soe Min Oo Kanbawza 12
2010 Cameroon Jean-Roger Lappé-Lappé Hantharwady United 20
2011 Nigeria Charles Obi Yangon United 18
2012 Serbia Saša Ranković Zeya Shwe Myay 20
2013 Brazil César Augusto Yangon United 20
2014 Brazil César Augusto Yangon United 26

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Han Oo Khin (March 9–15, 2009). "New era for football". The Myanmar Times.
  2. ↑ Han Oo Khin (March 30 – April 5, 2009). "MFF announces May domestic cup competition". The Myanmar Times.
  3. ↑ "MNL season opens in style". Myanmar Times. 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "MNL expands ahead of 2011 season launch". Myanmar Times. January 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "၂၀၁၂ ၿပိဳင္ပြဲတြင္ ခ်င္းကိုယ္စားျပဳ အသင္းတစ္သင္း ပါ၀င္ ယွဥ္ၿပိဳင္မည္". Soccer Myanmar. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "MNL TO INTRODUCE PROMOTION-RELEGATION SYSTEM BY 2014". ASEAN Football. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Min Lwin (2009-04-20). "Burmese Soccer League an Election Ploy?". The Irrawaddy.
  8. ↑ "Yadanarbon retains MNL title". Myanmar Times. January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

External links