Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C.

Petaling Jaya Rangers
Full name Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s) Rangers
Short name PJR
Founded 9 August 2011 (2011-08-09) as AirAsia Allstars F.C.
6 December 2016 (2016-12-06) as Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C.
Ground Petaling Jaya Stadium
Ground Capacity 25,000
Owner AirAsia Group
Chairman Tony Fernandes
Manager Hamdan Hashim
Coach Mat Zan Mat Aris
League Malaysia FAM League
2016 Malaysia FAM League, 3rd
Website Club website

Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club or PJ Rangers is a professional football club based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor that currently competes in Malaysia FAM League.[1] Founded in 2011, the club's home ground has been in multiple different stadiums before moving to Petaling Jaya Stadium in Petaling Jaya.[2]

They currently play in the third division in Malaysian football, the Malaysia FAM League after been promoted as top four from 2014 Selangor Super League.[2]

The club was formerly known as AirAsia Allstars before being rebranded in December 2016 as Petaling Jaya Rangers which will be used for 2017 season onwards.[2][3][4]

The initial uses the nickname Red Jets, which signify the clubs connection with the AirAsia Group. However they are known as Rangers after the rebranding of club name.

PJ Rangers regular kit colours are red and white for shirts, shorts and socks. The club's current crest has been used since the club rebranding effort for 2017 season.

History

Origins

Petaling Jaya Rangers Football Club was formed in 9 August 2011 as its former name AirAsia Allstars Football Club and compete in Selangor state league.[2][1][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The initial purpose of the club was to encourage AirAsia staff to excel in sports, besides being committed to their daily work in keeping AirAsia as the best low cost airline in the world.[2] The club won the league and reached promotion to play in the national league, Malaysia FAM League.

Promotion to Malaysia FAM League

The club was promoted to the Malaysia FAM League for the 2015 season from Selangor Super League.[2][1][12] For their first season in the national league, the club appointed Mohd Nidzam Jamil as the new head coach.[13][14] The club ends its first season in the national league in 7th place. After just four matches through 2016 season, the club replaced Nidzam Jamil with P. Maniam for the remaining matches of the season.[15][16] The club managed to reach the playoff for the Malaysia Premier League after finished the season in 3rd place although did not managed to be promoted.

Rebrands as Petaling Jaya Rangers

In November 2016, the club has announced the appointment of Mat Zan Mat Aris as the new head coach with a contract of two years as the club prepare for the new season.[17][18][19][20] Mat Zan Mat Aris is the former head coach of Melaka United which has achieved a back-to-back promotion from third division to the top division and this has been a quality which Petaling Jaya Rangers looked for in order to bring glory to the club in near future.[17]

As part of the club vision moving forwards, the club has unveil plans for 2017 season with a rebranding from AirAsia F.C. to Petaling Jaya Rangers F.C. in order to bring more fans and promote local community support.[1][5][6][11] The club has also revealed its plans for 2017 with the focus on engaging communities.[21] The club aims to actively engage with and serve football fans in the area.[1][5][7]

In an effort to support football development in Malaysia and in the region, Petaling Jaya Rangers unveiled an exclusive partnership with Queens Park Rangers (QPR) to start a football academy.[1][5][6][11] The academy aims to nurture and train the next generation of renowned footballers to play in the top flight of Malaysian football.[1][5] Working together with the team, QPR will lend their expertise in training the players, local coaches and staff.[1][5][7][11] The club has also will trained a professional groundsmen and stadium marshals to work at its stadium which will recruited among local community.[11]

PJ Rangers has been put in Group B for 2017 Malaysia FAM League with seven others club.[22] The club has been knockout from the 2017 Malaysia FA Cup in second round after a defeat 1-2 against UiTM.[23][21]

Stadium

Petaling Jaya Stadium

PJ Rangers are currently based in their new home stadium, the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.[5][6] The capacity of the stadium is 25,000.[24]

The club has previously play in various stadium before moved into Petaling Jaya Stadium as their current stadium from 2017 season.[5][6][7][9] During the early season of their first season in FAM League, the club play in MPSJ Stadium, Subang Jaya before moving to UPM Mini Stadium, Serdang for the remainder of the season. For the second season in FAM League, the club once again move to different stadium, the Shah Alam Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor where they play for the whole 2016 season.

As the previous and current stadium are rent, the club has planned to build a permanent stadium owned by them in near future as part of club expansion plan.[6] The location will still be near the current homeground in Petaling Jaya.[6]

Crest and colours

Crest

PJ Rangers has historically utilised one primary crest since the club participation in Malaysian football. The current crest, adopted when the club was founded in 2011 features the logo of AirAsia brand as the main theme with the Allstars prefix to signify the club first objective as a football club, which the players were selected from the best football players among AirAsia staffs.[2]

The wording of established since 2001 was used as an homage to the establishment of current incarnation of the AirAsia low-cost carrier company after the Tune Air, led by Tony Fernandes bought AirAsia from a Malaysian government-owned company in September 2001 for a mere MYR 1 and transform it to the successful low-cost carrier in Asia and world.[25][26] The crest has been replaced with a new design to reflect the current club branding where the club adopt a crest with colours theme of maroon and gold which will be used for 2017 season onwards.

Colours

PJ Rangers have always worn red and white shirts as their home kit as it is an iconic colour for the club.

PJ Rangers away colours are usually blue and white or various combination colours such as black.

Supporters

As part of rebranding effort, the club will be known as Petaling Jaya Rangers with the emphasis on engaging the Petaling Jaya community for local area support.[5][6] As of 2016, Petaling Jaya has a population of 619,925 which the club intends engage via community programs.[27] The club will use the marketing power of AirAsia as part of its promotional efforts to gather further support for the Rangers.

The club are also looking at establishing a youth football academy for the club with the support from QPR which will be a landmark project among the local community.[5][6]

Ownership and finances

The club were founded in 2011 and owned by the AirAsia Group, a Malaysian low-cost airline headquartered in Sepang, Malaysia which is spearhead by Tony Fernandes who is also the chairman for the Queens Park Rangers.[5][2][6][7][11][21] As part of ownership, the company provide all necessary budget and sponsorship for the club. The management is keen to move the club to be near their headquarters in future but not as near future as they currently focus on engaging with local community in Petaling Jaya for now to create a club with a local community support.[6][7]

The club also owns an amateur feeder team that currently competes in the Selangor Super League which is primarily made up of AirAsia staff.

The club aims to be a sustainable self-funding football club in near future and reduce its dependency on AirAsia via financial funding through other methods of corporate sponsorship, gate receipt, and merchandise.[11]

Sponsorship

The PJ Rangers kit is supplied by Line 7 for 2016, which is contracted to supply the club's kit for current season.[21]

The club shirt sponsor has always been AirAsia as part of ownership deal.[21] The club also has other shared shirt sponsors as they has been previously sponsored by GE Aviation in 2015 season.

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015 EGO SPORT[28] AirAsia / GE Aviation
2016 – present Line 7 AirAsia

Players

Current squad

Name Nat. Pos. D.O.B
Goalkeeper
1 Fairul Azwan Shahrullai Malaysia GK 20/3/87
12 Muhd Hafizan Ramlan Malaysia GK 10/6/91
25 Amirul Aiman Amran Malaysia GK 28/4/96
28 Mohd Fadzley Rahim Malaysia GK 22/7/87
Defenders
3 Nicholas Wee Malaysia CB 17/4/92
5 Muhd Afiq Azuan Malaysia RB,RWB 20/10/95
6 Muhd Farid Azmi Malaysia LB,LWB,LM 23/3/94
13 Mohd Badrul Afendy Mohd Fadzli Malaysia CB 1/9/93
15 Mohd Faizal Mansor Malaysia LB,LWB 21/8/86
16 Abdullah Yusoff Malaysia CB, DM, CM 17/9/87
17 Tuah Iskandar Jamaluddin Malaysia RB,RWB 29/1/87
21 Lee Yong Cheng Malaysia RB,RWB 9/6/95
Midfielders
2 R. Barath Kumar Malaysia LM,LW 23/4/91
4 Didie Arizal Ibrahim Malaysia LM,LW 14/7/92
7 Fahrul Razi Kamaruddin Malaysia AM,RW,RM,CM 12/4/86
11 Khairul Naim Mahyuddin Malaysia CM, AM 16/6/88
18 J. Thanasegar Malaysia LM,LW 8/11/94
19 Mohd Shahril Izwan Abdullah Malaysia RM, RW 27/6/91
20 Mohd Saiful Mustafa Malaysia CM 24/6/87
26 Iskandar Hanapiah Malaysia RM, RW 2/6/93
27 See Kok Luen Malaysia CM 3/6/88
30 Mohd Zuhairi Khalid Malaysia CM 13/3/95
Forwards
8 Mohd Faizwan Abdullah Malaysia ST 9/2/94
9 Wong Kah Heng Malaysia ST 27/2/92
10 Muhammad Zamri Hasan (Captain) Malaysia ST 7/4/81
22 Mohd Naim Asraff Nordin Malaysia ST, AM 12/6/95
23 Fandi Ahmad Malaysia ST 14/4/91
24 Muhammad Akmal Ishak (on loan from Melaka United) Malaysia ST 19/7/94

Source:[29] Source:[30] Source:[31] }

Transfers

For recent transfers, see List of Malaysian football transfers 2017 and List of Malaysian football transfers summer 2016

Head Coaches

Year Head Coach
2014 Malaysia Asmawi Bakiri
Jan 2015 - 28 March 2016 Malaysia Mohd Nidzam Jamil[13][14]
30 March - October 2016 Malaysia P. Maniam[15][18][19]
November 2016 – present Malaysia Mat Zan Mat Aris[17][20]

Management

Updated 7 December 2016.
Position Name
Founder Malaysia Kamarudin Meranun
Patron Malaysia Tony Fernandes
President Malaysia Aireen Omar
Deputy President Malaysia Simon Lim
Vice President/Chief Finance Officer Malaysia Mustaffa Ramly
Vice President II Malaysia Victor William
Secretary Malaysia Seri Pawitah Sholihan
Treasurer Malaysia Rosmimi Abu Bakar
Finance Officer Malaysia Mohd Fakhrurrazi Hj Ismail
Security Officer Malaysia Govindran a/l Karuppiah
Media Officer Malaysia Azizul Mohamad Sam

Malaysia Mohd Rizuan Bidin

Community Manager Malaysia Galvin Tan

Current coaching staff

Updated 7 December 2016.
Position Name
Team Manager Malaysia Hamdan Hashim
Assistant Manager Malaysia Mohd Kamal Ismail
Head Coach Malaysia Mat Zan Mat Aris[18][19]
Assistant Coach 1 Malaysia Raja Azlan Shah Raja Yahya
Assistant Coach 2 Malaysia Gurulu a/l Thiruppiah
Goalkeeping Coach Malaysia Hazahan Hanaffi
Fitness Coach Malaysia Mohd Faizal Md So'od
Physiotherapist Malaysia Muhammad Ikhram Abdul Ghani

Malaysia Mohd Tasnim Abu Mansor

Assistant Physiotherapist Malaysia Muhammad Syarifuddin Amran

Malaysia Mohamad Isamuddin Bin Md. Ali

Kit Man Malaysia Muhammad Athaa’illah Bahari

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://www.fourthofficial.com/2016/41082/airasia-fc-unveil-plans-for-2017-set-to-be-renamed-as-petaling-jaya-rangers/ AirAsia FC unveil plans for 2017, set to be renamed as Petaling Jaya Rangers
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://www.fourfourtwo.com/my/features/airasia-allstars-stand-what-we-believe-football-says-datuk-kamarudin AirAsia Allstars stand for what we believe in football, says Datuk Kamarudin
  3. ↑ http://www.hmetro.com.my/node/187319 Belum layak jadi Presiden FAM
  4. ↑ https://www.utusan.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/tony-kekal-pendirian-enggan-tanding-presiden-fam-1.417064 Tony kekal pendirian enggan tanding Presiden FAM
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2016/12/07/airasia-fc-change-name-to-petaling-jaya-rangers/ AirAsia FC change name to Petaling Jaya Rangers
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2016/12/07/30228752/new-name-and-targets-petaling-jaya-rangers-fc-aims-to-build AirAsia FC revamps to Petaling Jaya Rangers FC as Tony Fernandes hopes to kickstart a community-based club following
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.bharian.com.my/node/220952 AirAsia FC kini dikenali Petaling Jaya Rangers
  8. ↑ https://www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my/pasukan/pialafam2016 SENARAI PASUKAN PIALA FAM 2016
  9. 1 2 http://www.mstar.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/2016/12/06/red-jets-ganti-aa-fc/ AirAsia FC Kini Dikenali Petaling Jaya Rangers FC
  10. ↑ https://www.thesukan.com/air-asia-fc-kini-dengan-nama-barunya-petaling-jaya-rangers/ Air Asia FC Kini Dengan Nama Barunya, Petaling Jaya Rangers
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2017/01/01/31024822/pj-rangers-aim-to-grow-with-petaling-jaya-communitys-help PJ Rangers aim to grow with Petaling Jaya community's help
  12. ↑ http://www.bharian.com.my/node/45479 Liga FAM: Skuad AirAsia Allstars berhajat 'terbang tinggi'
  13. 1 2 http://www.sinarharian.com.my/edisi/utara/mohd-nidzam-ketua-jurulatih-airasia-all-stars-1.358602 Mohd Nidzam ketua jurulatih AirAsia All Stars
  14. 1 2 "Mohd Nidzam Is New Head Coach Of AirAsia All Stars FC". Mynewshub. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  15. 1 2 http://www.duniasukan.com/air-asia-allstars-hilang-pengendali/ Air Asia AllStars Hilang Pengendali
  16. ↑ http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/12/23/air-asia-fc-diarah-bayar-baki-gaji-kepada-nidzam-jamil AirAsia FC diarah bayar baki gaji Nidzam Jamil
  17. 1 2 3 http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/11/05/matzan-mat-aris-sah-ke-airasia-fc Tak perlulah Melaka, Mat Zan Mat Aris sah ke AirAsia FC
  18. 1 2 3 http://english.astroawani.com/sports-news/mat-zan-wants-take-airasia-allstars-premier-league-2018-121633 Mat Zan wants to take AirAsia Allstars to Premier League in 2018
  19. 1 2 3 https://www.malaysiakini.com/sukan/361773 Mat Zan kini kemudi AirAsia Allstars FC
  20. 1 2 http://www.bharian.com.my/node/209607 Mat Zan sasar bawa AirAsia Allstars ke Liga Perdana
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.fourthofficial.com/2017/43418/pjrangers-tony-fernandes-plans-revolutionise-football-petaling-jaya/ PJRangers-How Tony Fernandes plans to revolutionise football in Petaling Jaya
  22. ↑ http://www.fam.org.my/news/keputusan-penuh-undian-piala-fam-piala-presiden-piala-belia-2017 Keputusan Penuh Undian Piala FAM, Piala Presiden & Piala Belia 2017
  23. ↑ http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2017/02/15/32695572/uitms-only-advantage-was-their-foreign-players-pj-rangers 'UiTM's only advantage was their foreign players' - PJ Rangers' Mat Zan
  24. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/malaysia/stadium-petaling-jaya/
  25. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/business-11647205 How Air Asia founder Tony Fernandes' dream came true
  26. ↑ http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2001&dt=0907&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_01.htm DRB-HICOM jual AirAsia
  27. ↑ http://www.mbpj.gov.my/en/mbpj/profile/background Official Portal of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
  28. ↑ http://www.my-soccer.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1114
  29. ↑ "Petaling Jaya Rangers 2017". www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "AirAsia FC In FAM League". b.hrian.com.my. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "AirAsia FC 2015 Squad". AirAsia Football Club. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.