Malaysia Premier Futsal League Explained

Malaysia Premier Futsal League
Pixels:175px
Country:Malaysia
Confed:AFC
Founded:
(rebranded in 2019)
Teams:20
Levels:1–2
Divisions:MPFL Division 1
MPFL Division 2
Domest Cup:Malaysia Futsal Cup
Confed Cup:AFC Futsal Club Championship
AFF Futsal Club Championship
Champions:D1: Johor Darul Ta'zim (1st title)
D2: Kelantan (1st title
Season:2024 season
Most Successful Club:D1: Selangor (2 titles)
D2: Kelantan (1 title)
Tv:Astro Arena
Current:
2024 MPFL Division 1
17 February – 4 August
2024 MPFL Division 2
22 June – 4 August

The Malaysia Premier Futsal League, commonly abbreviated as MPFL, is a men's professional futsal league sanctioned by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). It was previously known as the Liga Futsal Kebangsaan (LFK). Successful MPFL teams qualify for Asian continental club competitions, including the AFC Futsal Club Championship and AFF Futsal Club Championship. MPFL currently does not practice promotion and relegation. Since the league's inception in 2004, 8 teams have been crowned champions. Selangor have been the most successful team with 3 titles, followed by Figos RSA (2), Felda United (2), Melaka (2), PDRM (1), AOB Teras Selatan (1), Johor (1), PKNS (1) and Pahang Rangers (1).

History

Origins

In 2004, Football Association of Malaysia introduced the first futsal league (carnival format) sponsored by Hyundai. The league was known as the Hyundai National Futsal Championship, which was then joined by 18 teams and was held at Sports Planet Ampang.

Foundation

In 2006, the league was called the Celcom National Futsal Championship after Celcom took over as the main sponsor. It was a carnival format in four zones (North, Central, South & East). A total of 33 teams battled this time for the league title.

In 2007, FELDA took over as the official sponsor and was called Liga Futsal Kebangsaan FAM/FELDA. The women categories were introduced in that year.

Figos RSA became the first club to win the title back-to-back in the 2008-09 and 2009–10 seasons. In the 2014–15 season, Felda United matched the record after winning the season for the second time.[1]

The league was on hold for the 2016 season after a financial problem and postponed to January 2017 for the new season.[2] [3] [4] [5] For 2017 season, a total of 10 teams was supposed to compete in men categories. However, Selangor withdrew from the competition before the start of the season. In women's categories, a total of six teams compete in the competition.

Rebranding as Malaysia Premier Futsal League

In 2019, the Liga Futsal Kebangsaan was rebranded into the Malaysia Premier Futsal League. A total of 9 teams were competing to be the first MPFL champion.[6] Selangor won the inaugural edition of the new league, ending a six-year wait to be crown champions of Malaysia. The previous champions Melaka failed to defend the championship as they were in 7th position in the league. Saiful Nizam, Ridzwan Bakri and Fariq Mohammad became the inaugural winners of the Golden Boot awards as they scored 18 goals respectively.

2020s

Before the start of the 2020 season, Selangor changed their name to Selangor MAC due to a merging with MAC FC. The previous season's runner-up, Pahang, also changed their name to Pahang Rangers. Four new teams joined for the 2020 season; they were Sarawak, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan and KPT–PST Mustangs. Melaka withdrew from the league, so that 12 teams would be taking part in the 2020 MPFL season, three more than last season.[7] Only six games were played before the league was postponed on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and on June 1, 2020, the season was officially cancelled.[8] For the 2021 season, a new format would be used: 20 teams would be divided into two groups, the top four teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stages.[9] However, the league was cancelled again due to the pandemic.

After COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia restrictions were eased, MPFL were back for the 2022 season. A total of 15 teams were competing in the 2022 season. Four new teams joined, namely PDRM, Selangor TOT United, Shah Alam City and ATM. Sarawak withdrew from the league.[10] The 2022 season used one round league format and all matches were played at Panasonic Sports Complex, Shah Alam due to Malaysia government's Covid-19 restrictions. Selangor MAC became the fourth club to win the title back-to-back as they won 2019 and 2022 seasons.[11] Also, Selangor MAC became the first club to win three first division titles. For the second time in a row, Pahang Rangers finished as runner-up. The new teams PDRM, finished in 5th position in the league. Silva Matheus Vasconcelos became the first foreign player to win the Golden Boot award which was also shared with his Selangor MAC's teammate Ekmal Shahrin as they each scored 14 goals.

The 2023 will use a new format, 14 competing teams will be divided into two groups,the top four teams in each group will qualify for the knockout stages. 3 new teams joined for 2023 season, they were Johor Darul Ta'zim, Sabah and PFA Odin Sarawak. Four teams withdrew from the league, they were Perak, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan and PDRM.[12] Pahang Rangers became the champion after they beat the new team Johor Darul Ta'zim 9–6 on aggregate in the final, ending the two year dominance of Selangor MAC.[13] Selangor MAC' s Ali Ebrahimi became the top scorer as he scored 22 goals.

Divided into two divisions

Starting from the 2024 season, the league will be divided into two separate divisions. The teams that advanced to the knockout stage last season (excluding Pulau Pinang) and KL City will play in MPFL Division 1, while the teams that did not advance to the knockout stage last season (excluding KL City) will play in MPFL Division 2. Additionally, seven new teams, namely Canaan FC, Kelantan, Malaysian University, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan United, Nilai City SC and PJ Champz will join the MPFL Division 2. Selangor TOT United and Selangor MAC have reverted to their former names; Gombak TOT United and Selangor. Johor Darul Ta'zim are the 2024 MPFL Division 1 champion while Kelantan are the 2024 MPFL Division 2 champion.

!Division!No. of teams
MPFL Division 1align='center'8
MPFL Division 2align='center'12

List of champions

Liga Futsal Kebangsaan (2004–2018)

!Season!Champions!Runners-up!Third places
2004PDRMJohorMAKSAK
2005–06AOB Teras SelatanMPSJMBAS
2007JohorMAKSAKSelangor
2008–09Figos RSASelangorPahang
2009–10Figos RSAT-TeamPahang
2010–11SelangorJohorFelda United
2011–12PKNSMPSJPahang
2013–14Felda UnitedMPSJPahang
2014–15Felda UnitedT-TeamMK
2017MelakaFelda UnitedPahang
2018MelakaPerakPahang

Malaysia Premier Futsal League (2019–2023)

!Season!Champions!Runners-up!Third places
2019Selangor MACPahang RangersTerengganu
2020League cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
2021
2022Selangor MACPahang RangersNegeri Sembilan
2023Pahang RangersJohor Darul Ta'zimSelangor MAC
Selangor TOT United

MPFL Division 1 & Division 2 (2024–present)

!Season!Division 1 champions!Division 2 champions
2024Johor Darul Ta'zimKelantan

Titles by team

!Team!LFK titles
2004–2018!MPFL Division 1 titles
2019–present!MPFL Division 2 titles
2024–present!Total titles
align='left'Selangor1203
align='left'Figos RSA2002
align='left'FELDA United2002
align='left'Melaka2002
align='left'PDRM1001
align='left'AOB Teras Selatan1001
align='left'Johor1001
align='left'PKNS1001
align='left'Pahang Rangers0101
align='left'Johor Darul Ta'zim0101
align='left'Kelantan0011

Teams

Twenty five teams have played in the Malaysia Premier Futsal League from its inception in 2019, up to and including the 2024 season.

2024 season

Eight teams will compete in the 2024 MPFL Division 1:

Overview of MPFL Division 1 teams!Team!Location!Stadium!Positionin 2023!First seasonin MPFL!Head coach
Gombak TOT UnitedShah AlamPanasonic Sport ComplexSemi-finalist2022 Qusmaini Noor Rusli
Johor Darul Ta'zimJohor BahruPasir Gudang Indoor StadiumRunner-up2023 Juan Antonio Miguel Garcia
KL CityKuala LumpurOrtuseight Arena5th in Group B2019 Jerry Dinesh Pireira
Pahang RangersKuantanSukpa Indoor StadiumChampion2019 Gerard Casas Ullastre
SabahShah AlamPanasonic Sport ComplexQuarter-finalist2023 Patt Sriwijit
SelangorShah AlamPanasonic Sport ComplexSemi-finalist2019 Edgar Eder Baldasso
Shah Alam CityShah AlamPanasonic Sport ComplexQuarter-finalist2022 Muizzudin Haris
TerengganuKuala TerengganuKuala Terengganu State StadiumQuarter-finalist2019 Mohd Rozairi Ahmad
Twelve teams will compete in the 2024 MPFL Division 2:
Overview of MPFL Division 2 teams!Team!Location!Stadium!Positionin 2023!First seasonin MPFL!Head coach
ATMKuala LumpurSportizza Setapakalign='center'5th in Group Aalign='center'2022 Izmir Firdaus Zainal Ariff
Canaan F.C.align='center'align='center'2024 Kelvin Stephen Samuel
Kedahalign='center'7th in Group Aalign='center'2019 Muhammad Aidiel Boon
Kelantanalign='center'align='center'2020 Muhammad Fadhil Yusof
Kuala Lumpuralign='center'7th in Group Balign='center'2019 Mohd Ruzaley Abd Aziz
Malaysian Universityalign='center'align='center'2024 Addy Shairullyzam
Melakaalign='center'align='center'2019 Mohamad I'sah Abd Rahim
Negeri Sembilan United F.C.align='center'align='center'2024 Ahmad Fawzul Hadzir
Nilai City S.C.2024 Mohd Shafik Ezdee
PFA Odin Sarawak F.C.6th in Group B2023 Mohd Faizal Zamri
PJ Champz F.C.align='center'align='center'2024 Mohammad Saddam Zolkafle
Penangalign='center'Quarter-finalistalign='center'2019 Hasnizal Hashim

Former teams

The following teams that had competed in the Malaysia Premier Futsal League but are not competing in the Malaysia Premier Futsal League during the 2024 season.

!Team!Location!Stadium!First seasonin MPFL!Final seasonin MPFL
SarawakUnknownUnknown20202020
PerakIpohIndera Mulia Stadium20192022
Negeri SembilanShah AlamPanasonic Sport Complex20202022
PDRMShah AlamPanasonic Sport Complex20222022
KPT–PST Mustangs F.C.Shah AlamPanasonic Sport Complex20202023

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Piala Futsal Kebangsaan FAM-FELDA 2015 milik Felda United, MPSJ. ms. Football Association of Malaysia. 5 April 2018.
  2. Web site: National Futsal League gets January 2017 launch. Bernama. The Malay Mail. 23 August 2016. 5 April 2018.
  3. Web site: Penundaan Liga Futsal Kebangsaan mengecewakan. ms. Stadium Astro. 11 August 2016. 5 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204144947/http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/08/11/kami-kecewa. 4 February 2017. dead.
  4. Web site: Liga Futsal Kebangsaan Diadakan Pada Januari 2017 - FAM. ms. Bernama. 23 August 2016. 5 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170203160816/http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/bm/sp/newssports.php?id=1275925. 3 February 2017. dead.
  5. Web site: Liga Futsal Kebangsaan bermula Januari 2017. Khairul Nizam. ms. Fourth Official. 24 August 2016. 5 April 2018.
  6. Web site: Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL) 2019 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  7. Web site: Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL) 2020 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  8. Web site: SIARAN MEDIA: FAM UMUM PEMBATALAN PERTANDINGAN PIALA PRESIDEN, PIALA BELIA & MPFL BAGI MUSIM 2020 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  9. Web site: CUCKOO Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL) 2021 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  10. Web site: CUCKOO Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL) 2022 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  11. Web site: AFF . Editor . 2022-03-13 . Selangor MAC win 2022 MPFL crown . 2023-04-13 . AFF - The Official Website Of The Asean Football Federation . en-US.
  12. Web site: MPFL 2023 FAM . 2023-04-13 . www.fam.org.my.
  13. Web site: FA Malaysia on Instagram: "Final 2 MPFL 2023 Isnin, 14 Ogos 2023 Keputusan Masa Penuh JOHOR DARUL TA'ZIM 3-2 PAHANG RANGERS FC ⚽️ Saad Sani 3' Awalluddin Mat Nawi 12' Danial Dain 30' ⚽️ Sergio Jamur 16' 19' Pahang Rangers FC menang agregat 9-6 #FAM #HarimauMalaya #Futsal #MPFL2023 . 2023-08-14 . Instagram . en.