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 league in the

Malaysian football league system The Malaysian football league system, also known as the Malaysian football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Malaysia. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between ...

. 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 The Malaysia M3 League ( ms, Liga M3 Malaysia) is the third level football league of the Malaysian football league system. It operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Malaysia Premier League and the Malaysia M4 League.http:// ...

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 The Malaysia M5 league (Malay language, Malay: Liga M5 Malaysia) is a fourth level of the Malaysian football league system. The league was created in 2018 as a part of the Malaysian Football League’s plan to reform the Malaysia football league ...

and relegated teams from

History

Origins

Football arrived in

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 ...

( British Malaya at that time) as courtesy of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. 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 , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. The earliest recorded state football league took place in Penang, where YMCA won the league in 1909. The other earliest recorded winners of state football leagues were

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime ...

in 1922 (P.W.D.A.A.), Malacca in 1929 (Malacca Chinese FA), Negeri Sembilan in 1929 (Nilai Club), Perak in 1932 (Perak Chinese RC) and

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

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 The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM, ms, Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia responsible for organising the Malaysia national football team within the country. The Football Association of ...

(FAM), which managed the local football scene at that time. By 1954, the FAM joined FIFA as a member of the AFC. Malaysia consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

, with eleven states and two federal territories (

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and Putrajaya) in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

, and two states and one federal territory (

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...

) in

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...

(

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

). Each state has its own sets of football leagues, and some may have multiple divisions with

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...

rules among them. All leagues in all states run in parallel. The leagues have a hierarchical format with

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

. 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 association football, football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2019. The season started on 7 March and concluded on 17 November 20 ...

and

2022 Malaysia M5 League The 2022 Malaysia M5 League (Malay language, Malay: ''2022 Liga M5 Malaysia)'' is the inaugural season of the League competition since its establishment in 2019. It is in the fifth tier of the Malaysia football league system. The league has several ...

Promotion and relegation rules for the top four levels

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 ...

(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

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

. The various state FA leagues, social leagues and community leagues were later demoted to a division below called

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 4