Malaysia Cup

Malaysia Cup

Founded	20 August 1921; 102 years ago (1921-08-20) (as Malaya Cup)
Region	Malaysia
Number of teams	16
Current champions	Johor Darul Ta'zim (4th title)
Most successful club(s)	Selangor (33 titles)
Television broadcasters	Astro Arena RTM
Website	malaysianfootballleague.com

The Malaysia Cup (Malay: 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.^[1][2][3] Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, it does not guarantee a place in a continental competition, which is allocated to the Malaysia FA Cup winners.^[4][5] The competition was previously managed by the Football Association of Malaysia, before it was transferred to the Football Malaysia LLP (now known as the Malaysian Football League) in the 2016 season.

In the 2016 edition, the competition structure changed and only the top eleven teams of the Malaysia Super League and the top five teams of the Malaysia Premier League qualified for the cup.^[6][7]

The current title holder is Johor Darul Ta'zim, who won its fourth title in the 2023 edition.

History

The Piala Malaysia is one of Asia's longest-running football competitions.^[8] Established in 1921, it was known as the Malaya Cup from 1921 to 1967, after the donation of a trophy from the British Royal Navy ship HMS Malaya.^[9] The tournament was renamed the Piala Malaysia in 1967.^[8][9] For much of its history, the Cup was contested by Malaysian state teams, military teams as well as foreign invitees Singapore and Brunei. Malaysian club teams were allowed entry into the competition from 2000.^[9]

Origins

In January 1921, the

Three months later, the Chief Secretary of the Federated Malay States government received a letter from Captain H. T. Buller of HMS Malaya, which offered two cups to be competed for in football and rugby as tokens of their gratitude for the reception they received in Malaya.^[9] The offer was accepted and various club representatives met to organise the tournament.^[9]

First tournament

A Malaya Cup committee was set up and it was decided to run the football competition in northern and southern sections.

The popularity of the tournament was already apparent in its early years where in 1923, a newspaper described it as "by far the greatest sporting event of the year" (in Malaya).^[9] The final was played outside Kuala Lumpur for the first time in 1925, when Singapore defeated Selangor 2–1 at the Anson Road Stadium. Singapore also maintained a record of appearing in every Malaya Cup final from the first in 1921 to 1941, when the competition was disrupted by World War II.^[9]

In September 1926, representatives from the football associations of Selangor, Singapore, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca agreed to form a Malayan Football Association (MFA).^[9] The MFA was based in Kuala Lumpur, with John Sime of Singapore as its first president, and was represented on the Malaya Cup committee which organised the competition.^[9] The MFA saw little activity until 1932, when it was revived and reformed as the Football Association of Malaya (FAM).^[9] The FAM also took control of the organisation of the Malaya Cup from its founding committee.^[9] The same year, the British Services were allowed to enter their own teams, joining Kedah and Johor which were both in the competition by 1930.^[9]

Post-war era

The Malaya Cup resumed in 1948, and the post-war era saw

In 1959, the Malaya Cup departed from the traditional one round tournament to a two-round home and away format in three zones, East, South and North.[13]

In 1967, the Malaya Cup was retired and replaced with a new trophy, the Piala Malaysia, in line with political developments and since then the competition has been known as the Piala Malaysia.^[8][9] The old Malaya Cup now resides at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur.^[14]

Where previous tournaments had been segmented into geographical zones, the 1979 edition saw every team play each other in a 17-team competition.^[9] New entries were Federal Territory (later renamed Kuala Lumpur), the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the independent sultanate of Brunei. A one-round league competition was introduced in Malaysia in 1979.^[15] The top four teams at the end of the league will face off in two semi-finals before the winners made it to the finals. In 1981, the quarter-finals stage were introduced. When the league began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the Piala Malaysia.

However, only in 1982, the league trophy was awarded to the winners of the league stage.^[16] Since then, the Piala Malaysia has been held after the conclusion of the league each year, with only the best-performing teams in the league qualifying for the Piala Malaysia.

Modern era

In 2003,

Below is a list of Malaysia Cup champions and finalists since its inception in 1921.[1]^[23][24]

Performance by teams

Since its establishment, the Malaysia Cup has been won by 15 different teams. Teams shown in italics no longer exist or no longer compete in the competition.

See also

• MFL Cup
• MFL Challenge Cup
• Piala Sumbangsih
• Piala Emas Raja-Raja
• Football in Malaysia

References