Borneo Cup ( Malay: Piala Borneo) is a football tournament held 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. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

and

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. The tournament was played in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

since the 1950s, perhaps earlier. Before the establishment of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

on 16 September 1963, the tournament was contested by three national teams,

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and

. After

and

formed Malaysia together with Malaya and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, it competed as

states of Malaysia Malaysia is a federation of thirteen federated state, states and three federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territories, which form the primary administrative division, administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territ ...

. In 1977, the tournament champions Sabah qualify for the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), 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 country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

. The following year, the tournament served as the Malaysia Cup east zone qualifying round. In the 2010s, there is an effort to revive the Cup by the Sabah Football Association (SAFA), but with the absence of sponsors and the tight schedule of the Brunei team in the S.League became a major barrier to the efforts.

History

The Borneo Football Championship was first played by British

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

officials who took over the management of

British North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally establish ...

from the

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC), was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia) ...

in 1946 after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was then officially called the Borneo Cup in 1962. The oldest football club in Borneo, Kuching Wanderers FC (now known as the Kuching Football Association) can be said to be the pioneer of this tournament in the era of British rule. Sabah, which is known as North Borneo at that time became the inaugural champion in 1962. The Sabah team then won another 12 titles from 23 Borneo Cup editions until 1988. Sarawak won seven times while Brunei won only three times. Sabah who became the Borneo Cup champion in 1977 was the first team from Borneo Island to compete in the Malaysia Cup. The

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) a ...

(FAM) also invited Sarawak and Brunei to compete in the Burnley Cup (which is now known as the President's Cup). In 1989, the Borneo Cup was abolished after the failure of the team to conclude an agreement with FAM to join the Semi-Pro League.

Champions

References

{{Football in Malaysia International association football competitions hosted by Malaysia International association football competitions hosted by Brunei