Harimau Muda is a former
Malaysia national under-22 football team. The squad is the feeder team for
senior national football team. The club is managed by the
Football Association of Malaysia.
After winning the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
in 2009, the club were split into two teams,
Harimau Muda A
Harimau Muda A was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-22 National Football Team, representing Malaysia in international football competitions such as the AFC U-22 Asian Cup, Champions Youth Cup as well as other under-22 international ...
and
Harimau Muda B
Harimau Muda B was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-21 National Football Team and was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team played as a club under the name Harimau Muda B which took part in Malaysia Prem ...
due to schedule conflicts between league and international matches.
Harimau Muda was
reinstated in 2015 by combining Harimau Muda ''A'' and ''B'' back into a single U-22 team with the exception of
Harimau Muda C which still plays in
FAM League
The FAM Cup (Malay: Piala FAM) was a knock-out tournament for teams in both the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League in Malaysia. The tournament was a cup format, but from 2008 to 2018 was held as a third-tier league tournament and used ...
. On 25 November 2015, it was confirmed that the Harimau Muda has disbanded by
FAM which means all the player from
Harimau Muda A
Harimau Muda A was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-22 National Football Team, representing Malaysia in international football competitions such as the AFC U-22 Asian Cup, Champions Youth Cup as well as other under-22 international ...
,
Harimau Muda B
Harimau Muda B was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-21 National Football Team and was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team played as a club under the name Harimau Muda B which took part in Malaysia Prem ...
and
Harimau Muda C will be returned to their own state.
History
The team is aimed at developing Malaysian youth players.
The name "Harimau Muda" means "Young Tigers" in
Malay.
Premier League (2007)
Harimau Muda was made up of Under-21 players from across
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, mainly chosen from the
SSBJ football team and in the
President Cup. Harimau Muda first participated in the
Premier League Malaysia 2007-08. Harimau Muda's performance did not go as the
Football Association of Malaysia expected, with the club finishing 8th in the 2007–08 season.
The FAM considered dissolving the club, but gave Harimau Muda a second chance to participate in the 2008/09 Premier League season, but this time with more experienced, and better players. Harimau Muda proved to FAM that they did not deserve to be dissolved, as their Manager
Ong Kim Swee led the Harimau Muda team into winning the 2008/09 Premier League season, losing only 2 matches on the way.
Following the club's split into two teams, Harimau Muda was not allowed to be promoted into the
Malaysia Super League
The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...
. The
Football Association of Malaysia gave
Harimau Muda B
Harimau Muda B was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-21 National Football Team and was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team played as a club under the name Harimau Muda B which took part in Malaysia Prem ...
a spot in the
Malaysia Premier League
The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
The Malaysia Premier Leag ...
later on.
Club splitting (2009)
Owing to international duties in 2009, the Malaysia national U-21 team was needed to participate in the
2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
The Qualification Competition for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship.
The Draw
The draw for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship (Qualifiers) will take place at AFC House on 20 February 2009.
A total of 42 teams will come out of the pots. In the West Zo ...
. But they also needed to participate in the
Premier League Malaysia
The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
The Malaysia Premier Leagu ...
and the
Malaysia FA Cup 2009. This cause a major schedule conflict that posed a great problem for the
Football Association of Malaysia.
In July 2009, the Harimau Muda were split into two teams.
Harimau Muda A
Harimau Muda A was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-22 National Football Team, representing Malaysia in international football competitions such as the AFC U-22 Asian Cup, Champions Youth Cup as well as other under-22 international ...
and
Harimau Muda B
Harimau Muda B was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-21 National Football Team and was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team played as a club under the name Harimau Muda B which took part in Malaysia Prem ...
. Harimau Muda B was sent to
Zibo
Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the ...
,
China to participate in the
2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
The Qualification Competition for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship.
The Draw
The draw for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship (Qualifiers) will take place at AFC House on 20 February 2009.
A total of 42 teams will come out of the pots. In the West Zo ...
and Harimau Muda A was to participate in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Harimau Muda B continued to participate half of the 2008–09 Premier League and the FA Cup with only reserves players,
SSBJ football team players and mostly loaned age under 21 players from the
President Cup, while the key players were with Harimau Muda A. with a combination of reserves players and loaned players, Harimau Muda B manage to play well in the league with the management of the assistant coach.
When Harimau Muda A returned to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, they combined and won the 2008–09 Premier League.
Football Association of Malaysia officially split the team into two teams after the 2008–09 Premier League finished in order to avoid another major schedule conflict.
Comeback (2015)
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, former FAM's Deputy President has stated that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) must disband the Harimau Muda system, stating the Harimau Muda system is no longer relevant, it was not planned for the long term, and the state football associations should take the responsibility to groom potential players.
However, he does not know that Japan use the same method of Harimau Muda concept. Japan U22 also participate in a league which is J3 in their local scene. The difference is the Japanese did not have fixed players. They have 200 players registered and can be called up any time to duel in J3 matches. By doing so, the competition for U22 places is more fiery and open.
Honours
*
Malaysia Premier League
The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
The Malaysia Premier Leag ...
** Winners (1):
2009
*
Bangabandhu Cup
The Bangabandhu Cup, also known as the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, is an international football tournament organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as a tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is the founding father of Bangladesh ...
** Winners (1):
2015
Competition records
Bangabandhu Gold Cup
Staff and coach
* Team Manager:
* Assistant manager:
* Head coach:
* Assistant coach:
* Goalkeeper coach:
* Physio :
* Fitness coach :
See also
*
Harimau Muda A
Harimau Muda A was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-22 National Football Team, representing Malaysia in international football competitions such as the AFC U-22 Asian Cup, Champions Youth Cup as well as other under-22 international ...
*
Harimau Muda B
Harimau Muda B was the club name for the former Malaysia Under-21 National Football Team and was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team played as a club under the name Harimau Muda B which took part in Malaysia Prem ...
*
Harimau Muda C
References
External links
Football Association of MalaysiaHarimau Muda News
{{AFC teams
Malaysia national football team
Association football clubs established in 2007
Defunct football clubs in Malaysia
2007 establishments in Malaysia
Singapore Premier League clubs
2015 disestablishments in Malaysia
Association football clubs disestablished in 2015