Football Association of Malaysia

History

Pre-independence football

The British introduced football to Malaya, and the locals quickly embraced the game, making it the country's leading sport. By the late 19th century, football had become a central activity in most sports clubs across Malaya, though it lacked proper structure. The establishment of the Selangor Amateur Football League in 1905 brought some administration and organization, but the competition remained limited to clubs in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1921, the battleship HMS Malaya visited the country. After competing in football and rugby matches with local teams, the officers and crew decided to commemorate the games by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both sports. This led to the establishment of a national football tournament involving all states in Malaya. Known initially as the Malaya Cup—later renamed the Malaysia Cup in 1963—the competition has been held continuously, except during the war years.

In 1906, the Selangor Association Football League was officially established. The SAFL was responsible for the administration of league competitions in Selangor. As soon league football gained firm in Selangor, the Selangor Football Association established a new tournament known as SFA Cup in 1926. Ten years later, in 1936, the Football Association of Selangor was formed. This association began organizing tournaments, which inspired other states in Malaya to follow suit. Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak demonstrated a parallel institutional development in football governance, as Malacca established its football association in 1924, followed by Negeri Sembilan and Perak in 1926.

In 1926, the Football Associations of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, and the Singapore Amateur Football Association came together to form the Malayan Football Association (MFA). The MFA was created to assemble a Malayan team to compete against an Australian side visiting Singapore that year.

In 1932, the MFA was reorganized into the Football Association of Malaya (FAM). The committee decided to choose Kuala Lumpur as the headquarters due to its strategic geographical location. and the FAM took on responsibility for running the Malaya Cup competition.

The first FAM president was Sir Andrew Caldecott, followed by M.B. Shelley, Dr. J.S. Webster, S.D. Scott, R. Williamson, and Adrian Clark, who served until 1940. As Europe entered full-scale war with Germany, FAM operations moved from Singapore to Malaya, and A.R. Singham became the first Asian secretary in 1941. After the war, J.E. King became FAM's president, succeeded by H.P. Byson and then Dr. C. Rawson, who served for two years before the position was taken over by the first non-British president.

In 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman—later Malaysia's first Prime Minister—was appointed as FAM president. Under his leadership, football in Malaysia entered a new phase, with the FAM playing a more prominent role beyond organizing the Malaysia Cup.

In 1956, FAM became one of the 14 founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Two years later, it achieved full membership in FIFA.

After independence

Tunku Abdul Rahman's passion for football played a pivotal role in the construction of the Merdeka Stadium, which in 1957 became a historic site as the venue for Malaysia's independence declaration from Britain.

The stadium also marked the beginning of the Merdeka Tournament (Pestabola Merdeka), which was popularly referred to as the 'Mini Asia Cup' from the 1960s to the 1980s. The tournament was a significant success and inspired similar events such as the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament in Indonesia, the King's Cup in Thailand, and the President's Cup in South Korea. The inaugural tournament—then the premier football competition in Asia—was won by Hong Kong. Malaya claimed the title three consecutive times, winning in 1958 and 1959, and sharing it with South Korea in 1960. The country later qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

In the early 1960s, the organization's name was officially changed to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Tunku Abdul Rahman continued to promote football development, particularly through youth competitions, until his resignation in 1974. His successor, Malaysia's second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, held the post for one year before Hamzah Abu Samah took over in 1976. Hamzah, who was the Minister of Trade and Industry, introduced several initiatives to develop the sport.

Between 1976 and 1984, numerous football programs were implemented under Hamzah's leadership. The FAM entered a new phase when the Sultan of Pahang, Haji Ahmad Shah, assumed leadership. His tenure saw the introduction of the semi-professional league in 1989, which eventually transitioned into full professionalism. Despite these efforts, success on the international stage for Malaysia's national team remained elusive.

One of the highlights of Malaysian football history was hosting the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Domestically, the league underwent several transformations, culminating in the establishment of the Malaysia Super League (M-League) in 2004. However, the national team suffered significant defeats in international competitions during this period.

On 13 September 2018, FAM received the AFC Dream Asia Award in the Developing Category. In 2019, FAM was also awarded the AFC Dream Asia Award (Bronze) in the Inspiring Category.

On 26 September 2025, FAM and seven Malaysian heritage players–Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel–were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. FAM was fined CHF 350,000 (around RM 1.9million) whereas each player was fined CHF 2,000 (around MR 10,560) and were suspended from all football related activities for 12 months. FAM has confirmed it will file an appeal against FIFA's sanctions. On 3 November 2025, the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected FAM's appeal and the sanctions remains as it is. In light of the footballers naturalization falsification scandal, on 28 January 2026, all FAM exco members resign en masse.

Associations affiliation

There are 20 Football Associations affiliated to the FAM. Besides the 14 FAs with regional location, six others are affiliated units.

State affiliation

• Perlis Football Association of Perlis (PFA)
• Pulau Pinang Football Association Penang (FAP)
• Kedah Kedah Football Association (KFA)
• Perak Perak Football Association (PAFA)
• Selangor Football Association of Selangor (FAS)
• Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA)
• Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan Football Association (NSFA)
• Melaka Melaka Football Association (MAFA)
• Johor Johor Football Association (JFA)
• Kelantan Football Association of Kelantan (KAFA)
• Terengganu Football Association of Terengganu (TFA)
• Pahang Football Association of Pahang (PBNP)
• Sarawak Football Association of Sarawak (FAS)
• Sabah Sabah Football Association (SAFA)

Affiliation units

• MAS Malaysian Malay's Football Association (PBMM)
• MAS Malaysian Chinese Football Association (MCFA)
• MAS Malaysian Indian Sports Council (MISC)
• MAS Royal Malaysia Police Football Association (RMPFA)
• MAS Malaysian Armed Forces Football Association (AFFA)
• MAS Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM)
• MAS FAM-MSN Project (FMPS)

Competitions

The Football Association of Malaysia had run all top football competitions in Malaysia until 2015, when the Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP), which is now known as the Malaysian Football League (MFL) was formed as part of the privatisation of the Malaysian football league system. The MFL took over all the top professional football competition previously managed by the FAM. The list below are the competitions which are managed by the Malaysia Football League since it inception in 2015:

• Liga Super
• Liga Premier (until 2022)
• Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League
• Malaysia A2 Amateur League
• Malaysia A3 Community League
• Piala FA
• Piala Malaysia
• MFL Challenge Cup
• Piala Sumbangsih (Super Cup)
• MFL Cup (U23)

FAM also focuses on youth development football, women football and futsal leagues and tournaments in Malaysia.

• Malaysia National Women's League
• Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah
• Piala Presiden (U21)
• Piala Belia (U19)
• Liga Puteri-FAM (U16)
• MPFL Division 1
• MPFL Division 2
• Malaysia Premier Futsal League (Women)
• Malaysia Futsal Cup
• Malaysia Futsal Cup (Women)

Awards

Main article: FAM Football Awards

Principals

Management

February 2025 Source

Executive committee

• President: Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub
• Deputy President: Yusoff Mahadi, S. Sivasundaram
• Vice-president: Rosmadi Ismail, Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin, Dollah Salleh, Saaran Nadarajah
• Other members: Zainal Abidin Hassan, Hishamuddin Abdul Karim, Mohd Hisamudin Yahaya, Mohd Azizudin Mohd Shariff, Tang Chee Hong, Kamarudin Hassan, Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, Sugumaran Parthasarathy

FAM Judiciary

;Disciplinary

• Chairman: Baljit Singh Sidhu
• Deputy chairman: Abd Shukor Ahmad

;Appeals

• Chairman: Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff
• Deputy chairman: Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif

Club licencing

;First Instance Body

• Chairman: Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif

;Appeals Body

• Chairman: Wirdawati Mohd Radzi

Treasurer

• Chairman: Ismail Karim

National teams

• Chairman: Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub

;Malaysia national football team

• Manager: Peter Cklamovski

;Malaysia national under-23 football team

• Manager:Nafuzi Zain ;Malaysia national under-22 football team
• Manager: Nafuzi Zain

;Malaysia national under-19 football team

• Manager: Juan Torres Garrido

;Malaysia national under-16 football team

• Manager: Javier Jorda Ribera

;Malaysia women's national football team

• Manager: Joel Cornelli

;Malaysia national futsal team

• Manager: Rakphol Sainetngam

;Malaysia women's national futsal team

• Manager: Chiew Chun Yong

Document forgery controversy

Main article: Malaysian football naturalisation scandal

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players – Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano – for breaches of article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) concerning forgery and falsification.

The FAM had submitted eligibility enquiries to FIFA, and in doing so, it allegedly used doctored documentation to be able to field the above players. FAM appealed the sanction on 15 October 2025.

All seven players played for Malaysia against Vietnam in the third round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup on 10 June 2025.

References

References

1. (27 May 1954). "Asian soccer championship next year". [[National Library Board]].
2. "History - FAM". Football Association of Malaysia.
3. Muhammad Fitrie bin Mohd Fudzi. ''A Socio-Cultural History of Football in Malaya, 1880–1950''. Master’s diss., International Islamic University Malaysia, 2025. pp. 69.
4. Ibid, pp. 72
5. Ibid, pp. 73
6. Ibid, pp. 33-34.
7. Ibid, pp. 99.
8. T. Avineshwaran. (13 May 2004). "Sporting landmarks through the years". The Star.
9. "Piala FAM, Pestabola Merdeka bakal kembali". Bebas News.
10. "Hope Floats For Stalled Merdeka Tournament". New Straits Times.
11. "AFC Dream Asia Awards winners announced in new Member Associations categories". AFC.
12. "AFC Dream Asia Awards winners announced in Member Associations categories". AFC.
13. (27 September 2025). "FIFA Sanctions On FAM: AFC Awaits Football Tribunal Verdict".
14. Nair, Rohith. (26 September 2025). "Malaysian players banned after using forged documents to play qualifier v Vietnam". [[Reuters]].
15. (3 November 2025). "FIFA Appeal Committee confirms sanctions against Football Association of Malaysia and seven players".
16. (28 January 2026). "FAM exco members resign en masse".
17. "Affiliates". Football Association of Malaysia.
18. Subkhi Sudarji. (25 February 2017). "Debaran pemilihan Presiden FAM". [[Sinar Harian]].
19. Karel Stokkermans. (10 August 2017). "Malaysia - List of Champions". [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]].
20. (29 February 2012). "Malaysia 1921". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
21. (11 January 2018). "FA of Malaysia Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
22. Seng-Foo Lee. (12 August 2015). "How to start a professional football club in Malaysia". [[FourFourTwo]].
23. Ooi Kin Fai. (7 May 2015). "Malaysian football going for the German way". [[Goal.com]].
24. "Local Matches". Football Association of Malaysia.
25. "Member Association - Malaysia". FIFA.
26. "The AFC.com - The Asian Football Confederation".
27. "FIFA sanctions Football Association of Malaysia and seven players".