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Malaysian Super League
Sport	Football
Founded	2004
No. of teams	13
Country(ies)	Malaysia  Brunei

The Malaysian Super League is the top flight of football in Malaysia. It replaced the M-League as the highest division a professional football team in Malaysia can participate in.

Introduced in 2004, the Malaysian Super League catered only to the top eight football teams in the country. The bottom two teams at the end of the season are usually relegated to the Malaysian Premier League. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also decided to privatize the league and created MSL Sendirian Berhad (or MSL Proprietary Limited) to oversee the marketing aspects of the game.

The league used to have eight teams and teams would play three rounds of matches (21 matches in total). The first two rounds were played on a home/away format while the third round would be hosted by the stadium which had the bigger attendance during the first two rounds.

From 2006/2007 the league will have 14 teams, and all teams will play each other only twice (26 matches total).

Contents 1 Malaysian Super League Champions 2 Malaysian Super League teams 3 Pre-2004 Malaysian football league top-level champions 4 Former Malaysian Super League teams 5 Former Malaysian League (M-League) teams 6 Criticism 6.1 Radical Position Movements 6.2 Constant Format Changes 6.3 Foreign Players 7 History of league football in Malaysia 8 Best performing teams in the Malaysian league (1982-present) 9 Golden Boot Winners 10 Record of teams in Malaysian football competitions (1921-present) 11 See also 12 External links

Since its inception in 2004, the Malaysian Super League has seen four different teams become champions. No team has been able to successfully defend the title.

Season	Champions
2006 / 2007	Kedah FA
2005 / 2006	Negeri Sembilan FA
2005	Perlis FA
2004	Pahang FA

(For detailed information on a particular season, click on the season.)

These teams will be playing in the Malaysian Super League 2007/2008 season.

• Kedah FA
• Perak FA
• DPMM FC (Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota FC) (Brunei)
• Terengganu FA
• Perlis FA
• Johor FC
• Selangor FA
• Pahang FA
• Penang FA (Penang E & O)
• Negeri Sembilan FA
• Sarawak FA
• PDRM FC - Malaysian Premier League champions 2006/7.
• UPB-MyTeam FC - Malaysian Premier League runners-up 2006/7.

Year	Champions
2003	Premier I: Perak FA
2002	Premier I: Perak FA
2001	Premier I: Penang FA (Penang E & O)
2000	Premier I: Selangor FA
1999	Premier I: Pahang FA
1998	Premier I: Penang FA (Penang E & O)
1997	Sarawak FA
1996	Sabah FA
1995	Pahang FA
1994	Singapore
1993	Division I: Kedah FA
1992	Division I: Pahang FA
1991	Division I: Johor FA (Johor PBT Pasir Gudang)
1990	Division I: Selangor FA
1989	Division I: Selangor FA
1988	Kuala Lumpur FA
1987	Pahang FA
1986	Kuala Lumpur FA
1985	Singapore
1984	Selangor FA
1983	Malacca FA
1982	Penang FA (Penang E & O)

These teams played in the Malaysian Super League but are not participating in the current season.

• Public Bank FC (defunct)
• Selangor MPPJ (defunct)
• Melaka TMFC (defunct)*

Note: * Melaka TMFC Pulled out from the Malaysian Super League 2007/08 season to concentrate on sponsoring the Malaysian Super League.

These teams played in the M-League but are not participating in the current season.

• Singapore M-League Team (defunct)
• Brunei M-League Team (defunct)

The Malaysian Super League has had its share of criticism throughout its history.

With only eight teams in the league prior to the 2006/2007 season, position movements were radical. Successive losses would condemn teams to a relegation dogfight. Similarly, successive wins would put a team in contention for the title. Notable examples include:

• In 2005, Perak FA was rooted at the bottom of the table (with 12 points from 3 wins, 3 draws & 8 losses) after 14 rounds (which was already two-third of the season), relegation dangers seemed imminent back then. However, 6 straight wins that followed propelled them into direct contention for 2nd place with Pahang FA (the defending champions then) on the last day of the season. They eventually lost that game, but still finished in a respectable 3rd place.

• In 2006, Selangor MPPJ was leading the table (with 21 points from 7 wins, 1 draw & 2 losses) after 10 rounds (which was almost half of the season), winning the title to follow up their famous victory in 2003 Malaysia Cup was certainly on the cards. However, 8 losses in a row subsequently left them in deep relegation troubles. Their place in the Malaysian Super League was only saved with 2 straight wins in the final rounds of the season. In the end they finished in a disappointing 5th place.

The reasons given for the formation of the Malaysian Super League was the need to improve the standard of football in Malaysia. However, the Malaysian Super League was criticized by local press. Many called it a variation of the older M-League but with fewer teams in the top division. Many also disagreed with the fact that the league format changed almost annually and it is a problem which persists until today. The Malaysian Super League has gone through two format changes in its short history spanning three-years. The Football Association of Malaysia decided to expand the Malaysian Super League to accommodate 14 teams instead of 8, which was the number of league teams in the Malaysian Super League's first three seasons.

The professionalism of some teams have also been questioned. Most Malaysian Super League teams view foreign players as a necessity and as a result, most teams usually fill up their rosters with unknown foreigners. Teams usually sign foreigners based on their performances in pre-season trials. It is not uncommon for foreign players to be released after just two or three matches or be kept on the sidelines for an entire season.

The last case of unprofessional conduct involved Ivan Ziga, a Slovakian player who plays for Sarawak FA. Ivan Ziga claims his contract was terminated nine-months early without any explanation. He also claimed he was not paid. He took his plight to the Football Association of Malaysia but received no reply until Ivan Ziga threatened to take the case to FIFA.

Ivan Ziga's case is not uncommon in Malaysia, with most other cases involving African players who are either not paid or left stranded when their contracts are terminated early without any proper explanation given by teams. Even so, these unknown foreigners are more often than not heads and shoulders above most local players.

A football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football assiociations was first held in Malaysia in 1982. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. However over the years since then, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right.

Initially the only teams only allowed to participate in the league were the state FA's sides, teams representing the Armed Forces and the Police, and teams representing the neighbouring countries of Singapore and Brunei (though the Football Association of Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian League after the 1994 season following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and has not been involved since). In recent years, top Malaysian club teams have also been admitted to the league competition.

Between 1989 to 1993 and 1998 to 2003, the football league in Malaysia was divided into two groups:

• 1) First Division: Malaysian Premier One League
• 2) Second Division: Malaysian Premier Two League

Between 2004 to 2006, the professional football league in Malaysia was divided into three groups:

• 1) First Division: Malaysian Super League
• 2) Second Division: Malaysian Premier League Group A
• 3) Second Division: Malaysian Premier League Group B

Between 1994 to 1997, there was no second level league as the top two leagues were combined.

Prior to the introduction of the current set-up, the top league competition in Malaysia was known as the Semi-Pro League (1989-93), and the M-League (1994-2003).

#	Club	Wins	Runner-ups
1	Pahang FA	5	-
2	Selangor FA	4	1
3	Penang FA (Penang E & O)	3	-
4	Kedah FA	2	4
5	Perak FA	2	1
6	Kuala Lumpur FA	2	-
7	Singapore	2	-
8	Johor FA	1	-
9	Perlis FA	1	-
10	Negeri Sembilan FA	1	-
11	Sarawak FA	1	-
12	Sabah FA	1	-
13	Malacca FA	1	-

Season	Players	Teams/Clubs	Goals
2006/2007	Keita Mandjou Mohd Shahrazen Said	Perak FA DPMM FC (Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota FC)	21
2005/2006	Keita Mandjou	Perak FA	17
2005	Julio Cesar Rodrigues Zacharia Simukonda	Sabah FA Perlis FA	18
2004	Indra Putra Mahayuddin	Pahang FA	15
2003	Phillimon Chepita	Perlis FA	23
2002	Muhamad Khalid Jamlus	Perak FA	17
2001	Norizam Ali Hassan	Perak FA	13
2000	Azizul Kamaluddin	Pahang FA	12
1999	Azman Adnan	Penang FA (Penang E & O)	13
1998	Vyatcheslav Melnikov	Pahang FA	17
1997	Laszlo Repasi	Perak FA	19
1996			?
1995	Scott Ollerenshaw	Sabah FA	22
1994	Mohd Hashim Mustapha	Kelantan FA	25
1993			?
1992			?
1991	Abbas Saad	Johor FA	11
1990	Alistair Edwards	Singapore	?
1989			?
1988	Fandi Ahmad	Kuala Lumpur FA	?
1987			?
1986			?
1985			?
1984			?
1983			?
1982			?

Team	League Championship titles	League Second Division titles	Malaysian FA Cup	Malaysia Cup	Malaysian Charity Shield	AFC Cup	AFC Champions League	Total
Selangor FA	4	2	4(1)	32(15)	6(4)	-	(1)	48
Singapore	2	-	-	24(19)	1(1)	-	-	27
Perak FA	2(1)	(1)	2	7(11)	3	-	-	14
Kedah FA	2[4]	3	2	3[6]	2[2]	-	-	12
Kuala Lumpur FA	2	-	3[1]	3[1]	3[4]	-	-	11
Pahang FA	5	-	1[1]	2[4]	2[4]	-	-	10
Penang FA (Penang E & O)	3	-	1[2]	4[9]	1	-	-	9
Johor FA	1	1	1	2[1]	1[2]	-	-	6
Perlis FA	1	1	[3]	2[1]	2[1]	-	-	6
Terengganu FA	-	2	1[2]	1[3]	1[1]	-	-	5
Negeri Sembilan FA	1	1	1	1[2]	[1]	-	-	4
Sarawak FA	1	-	1[2]	[1]	1[1]	-	-	3
Selangor MPPJ (Selangor)	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	3
Sabah FA	1	-	1[3]	[3]	[1]	-	-	2
Malacca FA	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Kelantan FA	-	1	-	[2]	-	-	-	1
Brunei	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
PDRM FC	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Johor FC	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Public Bank FC (Selangor)	[1]	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
ATM FC	-	-	-	[2]	-	-	-	-
UPB-MyTeam FC	-	[1]	-	-	-	-	-	-
Melaka TMFC	[1]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

• Table shows teams' wins in all competitions
• Numbers in bracket shows runner-up finishes in competitions
• The figures in bold represent the most times this competition has been won by the team

• Malaysian Super League seasons
• Malaysian Premier League
• Malaysia Cup
• Malaysian Charity Shield
• Malaysian FA Cup
• Malaysian FAM Cup
• Football Association of Malaysia
• Malaysian League import players

• Football Association of Malaysia
• Malaysia Soccer
• History of football in Malaysia
• RSSSF.com: Malaysia - List of Champions
• SoccerDB: Malaysia Super League

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