FACTS OF MALAYA/MALAYSIA CUP

MALAYA/MALAYSIA CUP FACTS:

Compiled by TONY MARIADASS

PICTURE COURTESY OF MEDIA 247

1. First Malaysia (Malaya) Cup final was held in 1921 in Kuala Lumpur between Singapore and Selangor. Singapore won 2-1 and the referee was R.S.M. MacDonald.
2. 2    The first Malaya Cup final in 1921 was played at the Selangor Padang. (Dataran Merdeka) and it was the favoured final venue for many more finals.
3. 3.     Four finals were played at Selangor Padang before it was played in Singapore Anson Road Stadium – Singapore beat Selangor 2-1, before it returned to be played Selangor Padang.
4. 4.     Other venues the Malaysia cup final was played include Chinese Assemble Hall, Ipoh (1931), Rifle Range Road, Singapore (1933), City Stadium, Penang (1969, 1974) and Perak Stadium (1971).
5. 5.     Following the 1956 final, the Cup final moved to its permanent home – the 40,000 capacity Merdeka Stadium – except for the years 1969 and 1974 when it was held the Penang City Stadium.
6. 6.     The visit of the HMS Malaya, the battleship presented by the then Federated Malay States to the British Navy during the First World War, to Malaya in 1921 opened a new era for football in the country.
7. 7.     The Malaya Cup competition was founded on 20th August 1921 (100 years ago)
8. 8.     Captain Buller, his officers, and men, in gratitude for the hospitality shown them by their Malayan hosts, presented a trophy – the H.M.S. Malaya Cup – and the rest is history.
9. 9.     Prior to this for more than 30 years, football was played in all parts of Malaya and Borneo – mostly localised with frequent inter-state games which were mostly great social events rather full-blooded matches.
10. 10.The Malaya Cup began as a village fete where fans were reminded not to ‘go beyond the rope and invade the field” or ‘attach the referee or linemen or throw things on the pain of arrest or fine’.
11. 11.There was no controlling body for football in Malaya when the inaugural competition was organized.
12. 12.Some States and Settlements (the Straits Settlement of Malacca and Penang) had no central organisation until late 20s.
13. 13.The organisation of the Malaya Cup competition was vested in a Special Malaya Cup committee which comprised leading government officials and representatives of some of the leading clubs in the country.
14. 14.The Malayan Football Association was formed and in 1933 or thereabouts, the name was changed to the Football Association of Malaya.
15. 15. By the early 30s, almost all the states and settlements except Pahang, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu had formed “control” bodies.
16. 16.In 1936, the Malaya Cup-committee relinquished its responsibility of organising the competition to FAM.
17. 17.The period 1921 to 1941, saw Singapore dominant with 12 straight victories and two drawn finals against Selangor. Selangor itself won the Cup five times in 15 appearances. Perak won twice, with Penang twice finalists and Kedah once to add their name to the Cup honour rolls.
18. 18.There was no competition between 1942-1947 (six years) because of the Second World War.
19. 19.The Malaya Cup competition was revived in 1948.
20. 20.Following the revival, Pahang FA was formed in 1951, the Kelantan FA came to being, followed by Terengganu a year later and Perlis in 1953.
21. 21.All states and settlements joined the fold as full affiliates and were eligible for participation in the competition.
22. 22.The Malaya Cup continued to be the much favoured and popular tournament despite three other competitions emerged – the FAM Cup, the North versus South match, and the Federation of Malaya versus Singapore annual.
23. 23.The format of the competition, with the full participation of states spanning the length and breath of the country, saw the adoption of zonal competition – North, South, and East over a time span of several months.
24. 24.The period from the revival of the competition to 1967, when the competition was renamed the MALAYSIA CUP, saw a more equitable spread of Cup finals honours with Penang and Negri Sembilan, occasionally challenging the might of Selangor and Singapore.
25. 25. With the Malaya Cup retired it now resides at National Museum in Kuala Lumpur.
26. 26.Perak were the first team to lift the Malaysia Cup at the Merdeka Stadium in 1957.
27. 27.In 2019 the Malaysia Cup final returned to the National Stadium for the final between Johor Darl Ta’zim (JDT) and Kedah. The National Stadium last hosted the final in 2014.
28. 28. The last four finals prior to 2019 was held at the Shah Alam Stadium as the National Stadium had issues with the pitch and was undergoing renovations.
29. 29.The Bukit Jalil National Stadium with a capacity of over 87,000 seats, was first used for the Malaysia Cup final in 1998, which saw Perak emerge champions for the sixth time beating Terengganu on penalties.
30. 30.While the previous tournaments had been segmented into geographical zones, the 1979 edition saw every team play each other in a 17-team competition.
31. 31. New entries were Federal Territory (now known as Kuala Lumpur), the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the independent sultanate of Brunei.
32. 32.In 1981 the quarterfinals stage was introduced.
33. 33.In 2002, MMPJ FC became the first club and a non-state team to win the Cup.
34. 34.Teams representing two of Malaysia’s neighboring  countries have been involved in the competition, but Brunei won the Cup in 1999 in and all Borneo team final defeating Sarawak -2-1.
35. 35.The 1999 final at Merdeka Stadium was the last time the Malaysia Cup was held at the venue.
36. 36.Singapore has won the Cup 24 times since their inaugural appearance in 1921 and are the second most successful team. They were runner up 19 times.
37. 37.After Singapore last win in 1994, they withdrew from the competition.
38. 38.Singapore was back in the competition in 2012 but were represented by LIONSXII
39. 39.Singapore won the Malaysia Cup 14 times (twice as joint champions) and were finalists 21 times in the pre-war years between 1921-1941.
40. 40.The competition which was managed by FAM was transferred to be managed by Football Malaysia –LLP – (previously known as Malaysian Football League – MFL -) in 2016.
41. 41.Most successful team is Selangor having been victorious 33 times and runners up 16 times.
42. 42. Perak is the third team in ranking in winning the Malaysia Cup for 8 times from 11 finals.
43. 43.Perak first Malaysia Cup was won in 1967 when they beat Singapore 2-1 and M. Karathu scored the first goal. Karathu donated the winning medal to the National Museum.
44. 44.Perak were the first team to lift the Malaysia Cup at the Merdeka Stadium in 1957.
45. 45.Former national badminton ace Datuk Ng Boon Bee had scored 10 goals to become the top scorer in the 1959 edition with the Perak team.
46. 46.M. Karathu played in four Malaysia Cup final and in second final captained Perak to defeat Kelantan 2-0 in 1970.
47. 47.In 1964, the Malaysia cup final was broadcast live on television for the first time, with Singapore winning its 20^th title after defeating Perak 3-2.
48. 48.The 2013 edition, saw Pahang managed to end a 21-year wait to lift the Malaysia Cup when they defeated defending champion Kelantan 1-0 and defended the championship the following season
49. 49.A new format was introduced for 2016 season where only the best eleven teams from the Malaysian Super League and five teams from the Malaysia Premier League qualified to play in the Malaysia Cup.
50. 50.The Malaysia Cup was played at the end of each year’s football season until the 2016 season where it was changed to be played near the end of the football season to promote competitive league within the Malaysian football league.
51. 51.Kuala Lumpur team founded in 1974 (then known as Federal Territory) and now known as Kuala Lumpur City FC, won the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years from 1987 – 1989 and is the last team to achieve the feat. All three times defeating Kedah.
52. 52.Kedah football team founded in 1924 had limited success until the appointment of the late Datuk Ahmad Basri Akil as the manager in 1985, when Kedah went to qualify for six finals in a seven-year period between 1987-1993 and won two Malaysia Cup titles. In total Kedah won 5 and emerged runners up 9 times.
53. 53.Tiny Perlis team founded in 1963, but currently suspended by FIFA, had won the Malaysia Cup for first time and was the major success in 2004 and won the Malaysia Cup for second time in 2006
54. 54. Johor had to wait 64 years in the history of the competition before they wrested the Malaysia Cup in 1986 beating Federal Territory 2-0.
55. 55. Other teams who have won the Malaysia Cup and number of times include Penang (won 4 times and runners up 9 times); Pahang (won 4 times and runner up 4 times); Negri Sembilan (won 3 times and runner up 3 times); Kelantan (won 2 twice and runner up 4 times); Johor Darul Ta’zim (won twice and runner up once) and Terengganu (won once and runner up 5 times).
56. 56.Teams who have never emerged Malaysia Cup and only were runners-up only – Sabah (thrice); ATM (thrice) and Sarawak (once)
57. 57.Australian Michael Urulako became the first foreign coach in Malaysia to lead a state team – Johor – to a double by winning the Malaysia Cup and League Cup – in one season in 1991.
58. 58. Kedah born and former national player, Azraai Khor Sek Leng when coaching Kedah became the only coach to win double treble champions (FA Cup, Malaysia Super League and Malaysia Cup in successive 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. He went on to be awarded the Malaysian Favourite Coach award at the 100Plus – FAM National Awards and for 2007/08 season was awarded the Malaysian Best Coach award.
59. 59.Malaysia Cup was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic
60. 60.Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) are the last team to have lifted the Malaysia cup in 2019 before the competition was called off in November 2020 due to the pandemic.
61. 61.N. Thanabalan 79 now, who turned out for Selangor and the nation from 1963 to 1971, has a Malaysia Cup record that stands till today – local player who scored the greatest number of goals in a Malaysia Cup final (a hattrick and the sixth goal) in Selangor’s 8-1 triumph in 1968 against Penang.
62. 62.In the Malaya Cup 1927 final between Selangor and Singapore, British expatriate J.E. King scored a double hattrick inside half-an-hour at the Selangor Padang in the 8-1 win.
63. 63.J.E. King went down to become the FA of Malaya’s first post-World War 11 president in 1947 and revive the competition the following year.
64. 64.The 1978 Malaysia Cup final is still the much talked about comeback victory by Selangor against Singapore where they came back from a two-goal deficit in a space of three minutes by scoring three times in the last 15 minutes for a 4-2 win. Ramli Junit scored first, before Soh Chin Aun equalised John Engkatesu and Ramli scored again for sweet victory.
65. 65.Penang born former police officer Ibrahim Mydin, who later played for Selangor and won three Malaysia Cup medals defeating Penang (1968, 1969 and 1971) was nicknamed ‘King of Kangkang (nutmeg), for his uncanny ability to outwit opponents.
66. 66.Singapore’s Dollah Kassim was known as ‘The Gelek King’ after in 1975 Malaysia Cup match at the National Stadium, Dollah then tricked the Pahang custodian Mohd Ridswan into diving for nothing twice before cheekily tucking the ball into an unguarded goal and nonchalantly walked away to thunderous applause from 60,000 home fans. Before that he had played around the six-yard box with a couple of body feints to send Ramli Mahmud the wrong way and Jamal Nasir, the Malaysian international right back, tumbling to the ground.
67. 67. The Kallang Roar as famously known was the most vocal supporters at the Singapore National Stadium which packed 60,000 fans who bring out the nationalism and patriotism which is patriotic cry and pulsating cheers between the 70s just past the millennium when the Grand old Lady made its final bow for new modern stadium.
68. 68.The kick that stunned the Kallang was the bicycle kick by V. Sundramoorthy, nicknamed ‘The Dazzler’ scored at the National Stadium in 1993 against Brunei in their 8-0 win.
69. 69.In recent years, in terms of importance, the Malaysia Cup has fallen behind the Super League and even the FA Cup. This is because the winner of the Super League gets to play in the Asian Champions Cup League, the highest level of football competition in the continent, while the FA Cup champion qualifies for the second-tier Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
70. 70.Arguably the top 21 Malaysia Cup players over the decade are: 1. Mokhtar Dahari (striker); 2. R. Arumugam (goalkeeper); 3. Soh Chin Aun (defender); 4. Santokh Singh (defender); 5. James Wong (striker); 6. Hassan Sani (striker); 7. Isa Bakar (striker); 8. M. Chandran (defender); 9. Abdul Ghani Minhat (striker); 10. Syed Ahmad (striker); 11. Shaharuddin Abdullah (striker); 12. Namat Abdullah (striker); 13. Zainal Abidin Hassan (striker); 14. Wong Choon Wah (midfielder); 15. Shukor Salleh (midfielder); 16. Ali Bakar (midfielder); 17. Edwin Dutton (defender); 18. Arthur Koh (striker); 19. Chow Chee Keong (goalkeeper); 20. Abdullah Yeop Nordin (defender); 21. N. Thanabalan (striker);
71. 71.For the first time the Malaysia Cup champion will get a ticket to the AFC Cup this year (2021).
72. 72.The Malaysia Cup is still regarded as the nostalgic trophy to be won and still rated the trophy to be won to add to the collection in Malaysian football trophies at stake.
73. 73.Kuala Lumpur qualifies for the Malaysia Cup after 32 years and their hattrick triumph from 1987 to 1989. They were runners-up in 1985.
74. 74.JDT as defending champion seeking consecutive wins after having won Cup in 2017 and runners-up in 2014.