The Malaysia A2 Amateur League ( ms, Liga A2 Amatur Malaysia), (previously known as the Malaysia M4 League), also known as the al-ikhsan Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league in the Malaysian football league system. The league was created in 2018 as part of the

Malaysian Football League The Malaysian Football League, also known simply as the MFL, was created during the course of the privatisation of the Malaysian football league system.https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/03/349279/tmj-thank-you-malaysian-football-and-goodby ...

's plan to reform the Malaysian football league structure. After a rebranding of the Malaysian Football League (MFL) in March 2018, the company announced a reform of lower league competitions in Malaysia. In 2019, a new subsidiary of the company was formed, known as the Amateur Football League (AFL) which was tasked to manage the third division and below. The AFL officially confirmed the formation of the Malaysia M3 League and Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth divisions of the Malaysian football league system. A total of 14 clubs were confirmed to compete in the inaugural season of the newly reformed third division, the Malaysia M3 League, which replaced the former

Malaysia 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 Malaysian football league system, Malaysia. The tournament was a cup format, but from 2008 to 2018 was held as a thi ...

while the 5 FA state leagues and 9 social leagues ran in parallel to form the Malaysia M4 League. Starting in 2023, the Malaysia M4 League will renew its format as it will be a nationwide-single league, participated by champions of AFL-approved state or district leagues from Malaysia M5 League and relegated teams from Malaysia M3 League.

History

Origins

Football arrived in Malaysia (

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

at that time) as courtesy of the British. The locals soon picked up the game, and before long it was the country's leading and most popular sport. Towards the end of the 19th century, football was one of the central pillars of most sports clubs in Malaya. However, it was not structured. Even when the Selangor Amateur Football League (SAFL) took shape in 1905 – which ensured proper administration and organisation – the competition was confined only to clubs in Kuala Lumpur. The earliest recorded state football league took place in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, where YMCA won the league in 1909. The other earliest recorded winners of state football leagues were Johor in 1922 (P.W.D.A.A.),

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

in 1929 (Malacca Chinese FA),

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

in 1929 (Nilai Club),

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

in 1932 (Perak Chinese RC) and Selangor in 1935 (Rangers). Alongside the leagues, cup competitions also took place. By 1933 the administration for the football in Malaya was founded as the Football Association of Malaya (FAM), which managed the local football scene at that time. By 1954, the FAM joined

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

as a member of the AFC. Malaysia consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea, with eleven states and two federal territories ( Kuala Lumpur and

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal government ...

) in Peninsular Malaysia, and two states and one federal territory ( Labuan) in East Malaysia ( Borneo). Each state has its own sets of football leagues, and some may have multiple divisions with promotion and relegation rules among them. All leagues in all states run in parallel. The leagues have a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between league divisions at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the hypothetical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 10 clubs per division implies that hundreds of teams are members of a league in the Malaysian men's football league system. For the 2021 season, the AFL has announced the format changes for the Malaysia M3 and M4 Leagues in preparation for the transition to semi-professional status.

Overview

The M4 league were part of the Malaysian football pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each state FA, social and community M5 league can rise to this division, whilst those that finish at the bottom of M3 league can find themselves relegate to this league. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.

Clubs

2023

Below are the list of clubs who will join the 2023 season, based on the status gained from

2022 Malaysia M3 League The 2022 Malaysia M3 League is the 4th season of Malaysia M3 League the third-tier semi-professional football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2019. The season started on 7 March and concluded on 17 November 2022. Establishment an ...

and 2022 Malaysia M5 League.

Promotion and relegation rules for the top four levels

# Malaysia Super League (level 1, 14 teams): The bottom two teams are relegated. No relegation for 2023 season. # Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League (level 2, 16 teams): The top two automatically promoted. The bottom two are relegated. The league not running in 2023 # Malaysia A2 League (level 3, 14 teams): The top two teams are automatically promoted to Super League. Sometimes, teams might withdraw for financial reasons and might be given permission to play in their State Leagues. # Malaysia M4 League (level 4, 15 clubs).

League system 2019

The table below shows the current structure of the system. For each division, its official name, sponsorship name (which differs from its historic name) and number of clubs is given. At levels 1–4, each division promotes to the division(s) that lie directly above it and relegates to the division(s) that lie directly below it. Below that level, individual league articles detail promotion and relegation arrangements. Unlike most countries that play football as a main game, the league system in Malaysia still consists of representatives from state associations, clubs from companies, ministries or government agencies. The Malaysia M4 League is at level 4 of the pyramid that was made up of a combination of leagues consisting of state FA leagues, social leagues and community leagues in Malaysia back in 2019. They are administered and operated by their state football associations or independent operators. The level immediately above is the Malaysia M3 League. The various state FA leagues, social leagues and community leagues were later demoted to a division below called Malaysia M5 League in 2022 to make way for a proper single league stage in 2023 which included teams that been relegated from M3 League and champions of various state M5 Leagues. The divisions included are: * Note: League names highlighted in bold are level 4 football leagues in the Malaysian football pyramid

Play-off champions and runners-up

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Malaysian Football

History of football in Malaysia History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...