Sabah F.C. (Malaysia)

History

From the 1950s until 1963, Sabah competed as North Borneo football team in the Borneo Cup together with Sarawak football team and Brunei national football team. Following the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, the North Borneo Football Association (NBFA) changed its name to Sabah Football Association (Sabah FA). Sabah qualify into the Malaysia Cup for the first time in 1977 and enter the competition in 1978.

Amateur and semi-pro era

Sabah was a well known team during the Malaysian football amateur and semi-pro era and produced many quality players, namely the trio of James Wong, Hassan Sani and Peter Rajah. These players led Sabah to become one of Malaysian football's most feared teams during the 80's. One fine example was during the 1979 Malaysian League where Sabah started slowly. After a run of 8 matches, they stood with 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, but during the later stages they stepped up by winning all remaining matches, most of them by huge margins including an incredible 8–0 thrashing of Sarawak, 11–0 hammering of Perak and the 6–1 beating of Terengganu. At the end of the season, Sabah finished as runners-up behind Singapore and became the highest scoring team with 49 goals in 12 games. In 1991, Sabah striker Matlan Marjan became the first Malaysian to score a double against England in 'A' international matches.

Professional era

When professional football was introduced by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Sabah made a reputation of being one of the Malaysian League's most competitive sides. Quality players were produced from the ranks during the 1990s, most notably Matlan who helped Sabah finish as runners-up during 1993 and 1994 Malaysia FA Cup, and who at one time was appointed as the national team captain by Claude Le Roy. The positive results were cut short by the match fixing scandal in 1994. Matlan was the one of several players found guilty. As a punishment for their involvement in match fixing, he and the other players were banned for life by FIFA and banished from the state of Sabah under the Restricted Residence Act. After the scandal, Sabah began its rebuilding process. Sabah won their first professional trophy, the FA Cup 1995. In the 1996 season, Sabah won their first league title and went through to the final of the Cup for the first time, but were beaten by Selangor on penalties. Sabah then reached the final of the 1998 Malaysia FA Cup. The 2000 season could be considered as Sabah's worst since joining the Malaysian professional league as they were relegated to the second division, and could not get past the group stages of the Malaysia Cup. However, Sabah quickly regained its performance in the 2001 season where they finished as runners-up behind Johor FC. In the 2002 season, Sabah was lining up players of calibre such as Zainizam Marjan, Khairul Azman Mohamed and Josiah Seton, finishing third in the league and again managed to get through to the final of Malaysia Cup by beating Selangor Public Bank and Perak. Sabah however finished as runners-up yet again by losing to the same team that beat them in 1996 final, Selangor. This time, Sabah lost by golden goal scored by Amri Yahyah. In 2003, Sabah again finished third in Liga Premier One. They reached the final of Malaysia Cup. This time they lost to club-side MPPJ by 0–3, with hat-trick from Juan Manuel Arostegui.

Early years in the Malaysian Super League

When the Malaysia Super League (MSL) was introduced in 2004, Sabah struggled to be competitive against other teams in the top league. Sabah only managed to stay in Super League for two seasons as they were relegated to the Malaysia Premier League (MPL) in 2005. After the relegation, Sabah continued to struggle for promotion. They lost to Pahang in the 2007 season play-off.

All local players seasons

After 6 years in the 2nd tier MPL, Australian head coach Gary Phillips was able to guide Sabah to promotion in 2010 in his first season in charge. After poor results which have affected Sabah's performance in 2011, Gary Phillips was replaced by local head coach Justin Ganai to save Sabah from relegation zone. Justin improved Sabah performance in the 2011 Malaysia Cup where the team reached the quarter-finals. He was retained as for the 2012 season but step down eventually. Sabah got relegated back to the Malaysia Premier League after losing to Kedah. Salt was added to the wound as the relegation was followed by them failing to qualify to the group stage of the 2012 Malaysia Cup.

Foreign players return

Sabah started their 2013 season back in the Malaysia Premier League as their main defenders Ronny Harun and Mafry Balang left and Rozaimi Abdul Rahman was loaned out to Harimau Muda A. 2013 season was led by Northern Irishman head coach David McCreery and they end up in 5th place, but lost the Malaysia Cup play-off 0–4 to Negeri Sembilan at Shah Alam Stadium. McCreery left at the end of the season. The year 2014 saw a major changes in the team's sponsorship by which local brand Carino was signed as their kit supplier and Ararat Sports plus BSA as their sponsor. During this season, former Sabah player Milomir Šešlija become their head coach, replacing McCreery in the hot seat. They finished 8th out of 12 in the MPL, missed the Malaysia Cup group stage for third consecutive seasons and also got out of the FA Cup in the early stage.

Just after 2014 season finished, another major change was made by which George O'Callaghan was signed as their technical director. Sabah FA successfully signed twice African 'Player of The Year' El Hadji Diouf and his compatriot Abdoulaye Faye, followed by Irish-born Libyan footballer, Éamon Zayed and Singaporean Fazrul Nawaz. Fazrul and O'Callaghan were released early in the season few weeks before Malaysia Premier League kick off. Fazrul was replaced by Joel Chianese during the mid-season transfer window, and O'Callaghan by Brisbane Roar ex-coach Mike Mulvey in February 2015. Diouf's dissatisfaction grew with Sabah FA management plans, along with his dismissal during few of Sabah's matches thus allowing youngster Leopold Alphonso and Rawilson Batuil to play. Promising start of 2015 season ended with disappointment at 7th place, missing Malaysia Cup automatic slot. TC Goh, Mulvey and big name players such as Diouf, Zayed, Faye, Chianese and Rozaimi Abdul Rahman left at the end of the season due to no contract renewal.

Asian and ASEAN player quota introduced

Following much efforts and various reorganisation made on the team, Sabah FA was crowned as the champion of the 2019 Malaysia Premier League for the first time since they last lifted the old first division title back in 1996. Having early secured various imports such as Brazilian Luiz Júnior, South Korean Park Tae-soo and Serbian Luka Milunović, Aguinaldo da Veiga, Ahmet Ataýew, Rodoljub Paunović and various local talents, the team was able to win 13 from a total of 19 matches, qualifying for the 2020 Malaysia Super League.

Privatisation era

Starting from the 2021 season, all clubs competing in the Malaysia Super League must be privatised as required by the FAM. Sabah Football Club Sdn Bhd was formed in order to fulfill the condition. Verdon Bahanda was appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the club on 12 November 2020. Therefore, Sabah FA was renamed to Sabah Football Club as the new club name, and the rhino once again became the official mascot of the club.

Return to AFC club competition

Sabah finished in third place of the 2022 Malaysia Super League, which saw them returning to the continental club competition since 1995–96 and making their debut in the 2023–24 AFC Cup in the group H with Haiphong, Hougang United and PSM Makassar. On 21 September, they played their first fixture against Hougang United in a 3–1 home win. In the next fixture, Sabah faced PSM Makassar away, where they won 5–0 with Saddil Ramdani bagging a hat-trick of assists. Their journey ended in the ASEAN Zonal semi-final, where they faced Macarthur FC and were ultimately defeated 0–3.

In preparation for the 2025–26 season, Sabah then sign New Zealand national team player Dane Ingham from Newcastle Jets and Dean Pelekanos from Western Sydney Wanderers. The club also sees themselves returning with Adidas as the club apparel partnership since 2016.

Team image

In November 2020 following the privatisation of the club, Sabah displayed the club's new official logo which was chosen following a competition. During the time, Sabah Football Club Sdn Bhd in its statement informed that the logo was created by an individual named Firzaruddin Zainal Abiddin. Apart from fulfilling the design requirements, the logo was chosen by the most fans.

Stadiums

• Likas Stadium - (official home stadium)
• Penampang Stadium - (Sometimes)
• Keningau Stadium - (Sometimes)
• Sandakan Stadium - (Sometimes)
• Tawau Stadium - (Sometimes)

Likas Stadium is the current official main home ground for Sabah. It has a capacity of 22,000, making it the 8th largest football stadium in Malaysia in terms of seating capacity. It has been the home stadium of Sabah since its opening in 1983.

Kit manufacturers and main sponsors

Club culture

Supporter Groups

• Bola Sepak Sabah
• Football Fans of Sabah
• Kelab Penyokong Sabah Rhino
• North Borneo Ultras (NBU)
• Sabah Football Fans Club
• SabahRhinos.com since 1997
• Tawau City Hoodlum (TCH)
• The Rhinos Troops
• Sabah Diehard
• The Voice of Rhinos#12
• RedBois City (RBC)
• Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)
• Bola Rhinos Fans Club

Mascot

Sabah FA first mascot was the rhino since mid-1990s. In 2010 the SAFA rebranded the mascot to hawk. which was controversial as Kuala Lumpur FA at that time was also known as the Hawks. Sabah FA reinstated the Rhino mascot starting from 2015. In 2019, Sabah FA once again rebranded the mascot as Tambadau. During 2021 privatisation process, Sabah FC was chosen as the new club name and rhino once again became the official mascot.

Rivalry

Sabah FC neighbouring rival was Sarawak United, and Kuching City matches referred to as the Borneo Derby.

Broadcasting

Malaysia Super League and other cup matches are broadcast live on Astro Arena and on the Astro Go and Sooka streaming platforms, while radio coverages regular season matches on RTM Sabah FM 89.9 in Malay language.

Players

First-team squad

Technical staff

Honours

Club records

Note:

• Pld = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, F = Goals for, A = Goals against, Pts= Points, Pos = Position

Performances in AFC competitions

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1 appearance ::1995: Round of 16
• AFC Cup: 1 appearance ::2023–24: ASEAN Zonal semi-finals

Former managers and coaches

Managers

• MAS Goh Thian Chuan (1999, 2015)
• MAS Osman Jamal (2000–2001)
• MAS Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub (2004–2005)
• MAS Abdul Rahman Zakaria (2006–2009, 2014)
• MAS Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah (2009)
• AUS Gary Phillips (2010–2011)
• MAS Shahriman Abdullah (2011–2012)
• MAS Alijus Sipil (2013–2014)
• ALG Adlane Messelem (2017)
• MAS Juil Nuatim (2018)
• MAS Peter Anthony (2018–2020)
• MAS Jelius Ating (2020–2022)
• MAS Shahelmey Yahya (2023–)

Coaches

• MAS Stanley Chew (–1979, 1985, 1987–1988)
• FRG Gerd Schmidt (1980–1983)
• MAS James Wong (1984)
• MAS Azah Ezrein (1986)
• ENG Frank Upton (1989–1990)
• ENG Roy Lorenson (1990–1992)
• CZE Oldřich Sedláček (1992–1995)
• MAS Kelly Tham (1995–1996)
• AUSENG Ron Smith (1996–1997)
• ENG Ken Shellito (1998)
• MAS Justin Ganai (1999, 2005–2006, 2011–2012, 2015)
• AUS Ken Worden (1999)
• ENG David Woodfield (2000–2001)
• ENG Peter Butler (2001–2004)
• POR José Garrido (2004–2005)
• POR José Luis (2005)
• CRO Drago Mamić (2007–2008)
• IRQ Wathiq Naji (2008–2009)
• MAS Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah (2009)
• AUS Gary Phillips (2010–2011)
• MAS Andrew Majjangkim (2012)
• NIR David McCreery (2012–2013)
• MAS Johnny Dominicus (2013)
• BIH Milomir Šešlija (2013–2014)
• ENG Mike Mulvey (2015)
• CRO Vjeran Simunić (2015–2016)
• FRA Steve Vilmiaire (2016–2017)
• MAS Jelius Ating (2017–2019)
• IDN Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto (2020, 2021)
• MAS Lucas Kalang Laeng (2020)
• MAS Burhan Ajui (caretaker)
• MAS Ong Kim Swee (2021–2024)
• SVK Martin Stano (2024–2025)
• AUS Jean-Paul de Marigny (2025)
• MAS Alto Linus (2025-)

Coaching history

The following coaches won at least one trophy when in charge of Sabah:

Notable players

Notable former players of Sabah F.C. who have earned senior international caps for their respective nations: Malaysia

• MAS Amri Yahyah
• MAS Ariusdius Jais
• MAS Azizon Abdul Kadir
• MAS Azzizan Nordin
• MAS Baddrol Bakhtiar
• MAS Badrulzaman Abdul Halim
• MAS Bobby Gonzales
• MAS Brendan Gan
• MAS Dass Gregory Kolopis
• MAS Evan Wensley
• MAS G. Jeevananthan
• MAS Harith Naem
• MAS Hassan Sani
• MAS Irfan Zakaria
• MAS Izuan Salahuddin
• MAS James Wong
• MAS K. Sanbagamaran
• MAS Khairul Azman Mohamed
• MAS Liew Kit Kong
• MAS Matlan Marjan
• MAS Mohd Anis Faron
• MAS Mohd Arsyah Ayob
• MAS Mohd Syamsuri Mustafa
• MAS Nazirul Naim
• MAS Nazri Ahmad
• MAS Nazrulerwan Makmor
• MAS N. Thanabalan
• MAS Ong Kim Swee
• MAS Peter Rajah
• MAS Redzuan Mohd Radzy
• MAS Rizal Ghazali
• MAS Ronny Harun
• MAS Rozaimi Abdul Rahman
• MAS R. Surendran
• MAS Sumardi Hajalan
• MAS Shahril Saa'ri
• MAS Shahrul Azhar Ture
• MAS Syed Adney
• MAS Tommy Mawat Bada
• MAS Wong Sai Kong
• MAS Zainizam Marjan
• MAS Zuraindey Jumai

AFC

• AUS Michael Baird
• AUS Scott Ollerenshaw
• HKG Tim Bredbury
• IDN Saddil Ramdani
• IDN Dedi Kusnandar
• KOR Lee Kil-Hoon
• SGP Fazrul Nawaz
• TKM Ahmet Ataýew
• KOR Park Tae-soo

CAF

• ANG Aguinaldo
• CMR Alexis Tibidi
• CMR Émile Mbouh
• GAB Lévy Madinda
• GNB José Embaló
• LBR Jerome Suku Doe
• LBR Joseph Amoah
• LBR Josiah Seton
• LBR Sam Johnson
• LBY Éamon Zayed
• NAM Paulus Shipanga
• NAM Petrus Shitembi
• SEN Abdoulaye Faye
• SEN El Hadji Diouf
• RSA Dumisa Ngobe
• ZAM Francis Kasonde
• ZAM Gift Kampamba

CONCACAF

• PUR Héctor Ramos
• SKN Keith Gumbs

CONMEBOL

• BRA Luiz Júnior

UEFA

• CRO Zdravko Šimić
• CSK Jaroslav Netolička
• ENG David Rocastle
• FRA Sofiane Choubani
• MKD Risto Mitrevski
• SER Luka Milunović
• WAL Rhys Weston

References

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