The Malaysian League or also known as the M-League (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: ''Liga Malaysia'' or ''Liga-M'') is a terminology used to describe the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league and its divisions associated within 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 ...

History

Origin

The concept of an annual competition between the states in Malaysia goes back more than 100 years. In 1967, the

Malaya Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the nation's o ...

(

: ''Piala Malaya'') was renamed as the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual association football, football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popular ...

(

: ''Piala Malaysia'') but essentially the amateur ethos continued until the foundations of a nationwide Malaysian football league was introduced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in 1979 as a "halfway house" towards full professional status through a revamp of the format for the

Era of Liga Malaysia (1979–1989)

A Malaysian football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football associations was first held in Malaysia in 1979. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the knockout stages of the Malaysia Cup where teams competed in a one-round league before advancing to the knockout stages. The top four teams at the end of the league will face off in two semi-finals before the winners advance to the finals. In 1981, the quarter-finals stage were introduced where eight teams qualified from the preliminary stage. However, it was not until 1982 that a league trophy was introduced for Liga Malaysia to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions which then officially started the era of a nationwide

football league The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in Malaysia at an amateur level. Since then, the Malaysia Cup has been held after the conclusion of the league each year, with only the best-performing teams in the league qualifying for the tournament. Over the years, the league competition gained important stature in its own right.

Era of Liga Semi-Pro (1989–1993)

In the early days, the Malaysian football league system consisted of a single division amateur league before changes were made in 1989 when it was fully known as

Liga Semi-Pro Liga Semi-Pro ( en, Semi-Pro League) was a semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. It consist of two divisions, the Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 and Liga ...

from 1989 to 1993. The league was divided into two divisions,

Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 ( en, Semi-Pro League Division 1) was the top-tier semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. Liga Semi-Pro was official establish ...

and

Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 ( en, Semi-Pro League Division 2) was a second-tier semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by Football Association of Malaysia. Liga Semi-Pro was official establis ...

. The inaugural season of the Liga Semi-Pro consisted of nine teams in Divisyen 1 and eight teams in Divisyen 2. The

Royal Malaysian Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

joined Divisyen 2 in 1990. Games were played on a home and away basis for about four months roughly between the end of April or early May and the end of August or early September.

Early era of Liga Perdana (1994–1997)

Liga Perdana was formed and established in 1994 to succeed the Liga Semi-Pro and became Malaysia's first fully professional football league and was the top-tier football league in the country at that time. At this time the league was interchangeably referred as the Malaysian League or M-League.

Era of Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2 (1998–2003)

In 1998, Liga Perdana was divided into two divisions, consisting of

Liga Perdana 1 Liga Perdana 1 or Liga Perdana Satu ( en, Premier League 1 or Premier League One) was the nation's top-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003. The league was formed and established in 1998 to succeed the ...

and

Liga Perdana 2 Liga Perdana 2 or Liga Perdana Dua ( en, Premier League 2 or Premier League Two) was the nation's second-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003. The league was formed and established in 1998 as second-tie ...

. During this time both divisions were just referred to as the Malaysian League as a whole. In the 1998 season, Liga Perdana 1 consisted of 12 teams while Liga Perdana 2 had 8 teams. 10 teams that previously qualified for the Malaysia Cup that also competed in the

1997 Liga Perdana The 1997 Liga Perdana season is the fourth and final season of the top-tier league, Liga Perdana (1994–97). A total of 15 teams participated in the season with 14 teams from Malaysia and one foreign team, Brunei. 1997 Liga Perdana The season k ...

were automatically qualified to for that season's

. The other two spots were filled by a playoff round of the 5 lowest teams in the 1997 Liga Perdana and the Malaysian Olympic football team, ''Olympic 2000''. The lowest four teams from the playoff round were then put into Liga Perdana 2 alongside the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, the

Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ms, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia; Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active pers ...

, Negeri Sembilan Chempaka F.C and PKN Johor. At this time, the league still consisted of semi-professional teams where each team was allowed to register 25 players where 12 players must be a professional for Liga Perdana 1 and a minimum of six professional players in Liga Perdana 2. Both leagues continued until 2003 when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) decided to privatise the league from the 2004 season onwards when 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 ...

was formed. Teams in Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2 were put through a qualification stage and playoffs to be promoted into the brand new Malaysia Super League. Teams that failed to progress in the qualifications were put into the new second-tier league, the

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional Association football, football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The ...

Era of Malaysia Super League and Malaysia Premier League (2004 onwards)

After 2004, the Malaysian League term is mainly used to describe the top-two divisions in the

as a whole rather than just the top-tier division in the country.

Logo history

There have been multiple different iterations of the Malaysian League logo. The first logo was used during the era of Dunhill sponsorship. The new logo which replaced it was when

Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is a Malaysian telecommunications company founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become the country's larg ...

sponsored the league in 2005. The last logo used was in 2011 when Astro Media first sponsored the Malaysian League. From 2012, no logo was created for the league as the Malaysia Super League and the Malaysia Premier League had its own logos. File:Liga Malaysia Logo 2004.png, The Malaysian League Logo which was used from the 2005 Malaysian League season until 2010. File:Liga Malaysia Logo 2011.jpg, The Malaysian League Logo which was used for the 2011 Malaysian League season.

Current league system

Unlike most countries that plays its football with separate systems, the league system 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 ...

consists of professional clubs that compete at the top levels, to representative teams from state or district associations,

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

sides,

city councils A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and clubs from

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

government agencies A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

Malaysia Super League

The Malaysia Super League (

: ''Liga Super Malaysia'') is a

n professional

league. It is the top flight of the

and is managed by 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 ...

(MFL) and in partnership with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The league is contested between 12 teams and operates on a system of

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. ...

with the

. The 12 clubs participating in the top flight league need to pass a set of requirements and a verification process, particularly related to professionalism and infrastructure feasibility.

Malaysia Premier League

The Malaysia Premier League (

: ''Liga Premier Malaysia'') is the second-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

and it is also managed by the

(MFL) and in partnership with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The league is contested between 12 teams and operates on a system of

with the

and the

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

. The 12 clubs participating in this league need to pass a set of requirements and a verification process, particularly related to professionalism and infrastructure feasibility although with a lower requirement compared to the Malaysia Super League.

Former competitions

Malaysia FAM League/Cup

The Malaysia FAM League or Malaysia FAM Cup (

: ''Liga FAM'' or ''Piala FAM'') was the third-tier football league in

. The tournament used to be a cup format, but was changed 2008 as it was held as a league tournament and changing to the Malaysia FAM League name. Malaysia FAM Cup was established in 1952 as a secondary knockout competition to the more prestigious

, the competition was held between the state teams including

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, and the Prisons Department of Malaysia in its early days. Starting in 1974, the state teams were barred from entering the competition and only the club sides were allowed to enter.

Liga Bolasepak Rakyat

The Liga Bolasepak Rakyat was the fourth-tier football league in

. The league was managed by the Liga Bolasepak Rakyat-Limited Liability Partnership (LBR-LLP) and was an amateur-level competition which was established in 2015 which aimed to create a bigger base at grassroots level and eventually provide an alternative route for footballers under the age of 28 to make the grade. In its inaugural season, a total of 111 clubs out of more than 150 possible districts in the country competed in the league. The clubs were divided into 8 zones.

Development and youth competition

Piala Presiden

The Piala Presiden is a developmental football competition in Malaysia for Under-21 players. Since its inception in 1985, the Piala Presiden has been the major tournament for Under-21 and Under-23 players. In 2009, the format of the competition was changed to allow only Under-20 players being eligible to be fielded for the tournament. In 2015, the format of the competition was reverted to the original format with Under-21 players and three overaged players eligible to play.

Piala Belia

The Piala Belia is a youth football competition in Malaysia for Under-19 players. Since its inception in 2008, the Piala Belia has been the major tournament for Under-19s. In 2009 to 2011, the competition was combined with the Piala Presiden. In 2015, the format of the competition was changed to a league format.