Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club, or simply JDT, is a professional football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, that competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top tier of Malaysian football. Founded in 1972 as PKENJ FC, the club was renamed Johor FC in 1996 before adopting its current name in 2013. Johor Darul Ta'zim is owned by Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor.
In 2014, JDT won its first major honour by winning the national league during the first season under Croatian manager Bojan Hodak. Under Argentine Mario Gómez's tutelage, they won both the 2015 AFC Cup and the 2015 Super League. By winning the AFC Cup, JDT became the second Malaysian team since 1967 to enter the final of a major continental competition, and the first ever Malaysian club to win a continental title. Between 2014 and 2026, JDT won twelve consecutive league titles. Before this achievement, no Malaysian team had ever won the league championship more than twice in a row since the league system was first introduced in Malaysia in 1982.
Since 2012, JDT have been known by the nickname Southern Tigers (), based on the coat of arms of the Johor State Council. The team's home ground is the 40,000-capacity Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. According to the Statista report from 2016, JDT are the most supported Malaysian Super League club and the second-most supported football club in Malaysia after Manchester United.
History
Foundation and early years The club were founded in 1972 as Perbadanan Kemajuan Ekonomi Negeri Johor (PKENJ) in Pasir Gudang, Johor. After winning the Malaysia FAM Cup twice, the Johor Corporation (a state funded corporation) decided to take over the club in 1996 and changed its name to Johor Football Club (Johor FC). The club finished as runners-up in the 1996 season.
In 1998, Johor FC were promoted to the second tier Malaysian football league, Liga Perdana 2 and won the title in 2001 which secured promotion to the first division, Liga Perdana 1. After two years in the top division, Johor FC were relegated to the new second-division, the Malaysia Premier League after failing to achieve promotion to the new top division, the Malaysia Super League during the 2003 season.2003 Liga Perdana 2 The club earned an automatic promotion to the Malaysia Super League during the 2006–07 season after the Football Association of Malaysia's decision to expand the league to 14 teams and were a regular top 5 finisher in the league. Johor FC were the first club team in the Malaysian football league system to enter the Malaysia Cup in 2000 under English manager Bruce Stowell. The Malaysia Cup was previously dominated by state teams and by defeating ATM on aggregate in the second-round group qualification, the club marked another record in the competition. The club also participated in the AFC Cup in 2009 replacing Negeri Sembilan when the latter qualified but did not proceed to compete in the competition.
Decline and transformation of Johor FC (2010–2012) By 2011, Johor FC experienced a period of decline driven by escalating financial troubles and a major reduction in corporate funding from Johor Corporation (JCorp). This lack of funding directly triggered a massive slump in on-pitch performance, a depleted squad, and dwindling fan attendance at the Pasir Gudang Stadium. The club's struggles peaked during the 2012 season, where they underperformed heavily, suffered critical operational losses, and barely escaped relegation in the Malaysia Super League by finishing just above the drop zone in 9th place.2012 Malaysia Super League
This internal downfall mirrored a broader state crisis; Johorean football was in its poorest state, heavily underperforming and plagued by high-profile match-fixing investigations.2012 Malaysia Super League#Controversies While Johor FC fought relegation in the top flight, other local clubs — Johor FA, MBJB F.C., and MP Muar F.C. — struggled to survive in the second-tier Malaysia Premier League.2012 Malaysia Premier League
To save the teams from bankruptcy, Tunku Ismail Idris, who was appointed as the new President of Johor FA (PBNJ) on 16 February 2012, initiated a bold strategic revamp to consolidate Johorean football under a single management.Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C.#Johor Darul Ta'zim era (2013–present) Consequently, all Johor-based clubs except Johor FC and Johor FA were withdrawn from the league.2013 Malaysia Premier League Both remaining teams were placed under unified control and arranged in numerical order, completely absorbing Johor FC's top-flight slot.2013 Malaysia Super League In December 2012, the Football Association of Malaysia approved the rebranding to Darul Ta'zim FC for the upcoming 2013 season, which was later renamed Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club (JDT).Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C.
The transformation era
Officially, 2013 was the first year in which the Southern Tigers made its debut under the new transformation initiative. A fully refurnished Larkin Stadium was made to accommodate more fans. With the introduction of season passes, it allowed fans entry to all competitive matches for an entire season. At the start of the 2013 season, Fandi Ahmad was handed the role of head coach of the team in the Malaysia Super League, while the Malaysia Premier League team was handled by former international and Johor player, Azmi Mohamed, with the assistance of compatriot Ismail Ibrahim. Before the start of the season, Johor signed former Spanish international Dani Güiza and Italian midfielder Simone Del Nero. However, both left in the middle of the season. JDT managed to reach the 2013 Malaysia FA Cup final on away goals rule, defeating Pahang FA. In the final, JDT lost 1–0 to Kelantan FA. During the middle of the 2013 season, Fandi Ahmad was relieved of his coaching duties, but would stay on as the team's manager. Azmi Mohamed became JDT's coach on an interim basis while waiting for the arrival of a new head coach. In the first season after the club's transformation, JDT managed to finish third in the 2013 Malaysian Super League. Later on, just a day before the 2013 Malaysia Cup kicked off, Fandi Ahmad resigned as team manager and parted ways with Johor FA amicably. With the motivation to rejuvenate the glory days of the past into the future, JDT appointed former Valencia and Atlético Madrid manager Cesar Ferrando Jimenez as the new club's head coach.
In February 2014, Bojan Hodak was appointed as team manager to assist Cesar Jimenez in managerial duties. On 26 June 2014, JDT secured their first national league title by defeating Sarawak FA 1–0. In the 2014 Malaysia Cup campaign, JDT made it through to the final for the first time in 23 years, emulating the former Johor FA that won the double (league and Malaysia Cup triumphs). Billed as the "Match of Heavyweights", it was a highly anticipated match between JDT (league champions) and Pahang (Malaysia FA Cup winners). JDT lost 5–3 in the penalty shoot-out.
On 31 January 2015, JDT competed in the Piala Sumbangsih for the first time in the club's history, qualifying to the competition as the 2014 Malaysian champions. They defeated Pahang 2–0 to win the trophy. The club made their debut in the AFC Cup on 24 February 2015 with a 4–1 win over East Bengal in the first game of the group stage. In late April 2015, the head coach Bojan Hodak left the club and was replaced by Roberto Carlos Mario Gómez. As the new head coach, he was also given the authority to revamp youth development programmes in JDT, especially its development squads, from JDT II to JDT V.
On 12 July 2015, an announcement was made that Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim left his post as president of the Johor FA; instead, he would still serve in his capacity as the Royal Patron of Johor FA. Dato' Haji Ismail bin Karim, State Secretary of Johor, was appointed as his replacement with immediate effect. In August 2015, JDT defended the Malaysia Super League title, becoming the national champions for the second year in a row. On 31 October 2015, JDT became the first Malaysian team to reach the final of the AFC Cup. In the final, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, they defeated the home side FC Istiklol 1–0 with a goal scored by Leandro Velázquez. As a result, JDT became the first club from Southeast Asia to win the competition.
In the opener of the 2016 season, JDT edged Selangor in a 7–6 penalty shoot-out win, successfully defending the Piala Sumbangsih title. In the same season, JDT clinched their first-ever Malaysia FA Cup title after staging a comeback 2–1 win over PKNS FC. It was the first time a club side lifted the trophy since its inception in 1990. JDT secured their third consecutive league title on Match Day 20 of the 2016 season with a 3–0 win over Terengganu. The club became the first team to win three consecutive league titles – a feat never achieved before by any team since the inception of the national league championship in 1982. Also in the 2016 season, JDT managed to end the league undefeated, thus becoming the first ever club in Malaysia to have done so.
On 18 January 2017, JDT announced that they had parted their ways with Mario Gómez barely two days before the season opener. The club promoted Mexican Benjamín Mora from JDT II to coach the squad for the 2017 season. On 21 January 2017, despite leading 1–0 at half-time, JDT were denied a third Piala Sumbangsih in a row after losing 5–4 in the penalty shoot-out to Kedah. In the 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, JDT reached the play-off round for the first time in their history, after eliminating Bangkok United in the second preliminary round after penalties. In the play-off round, JDT lost 3–0 to the Japanese side Gamba Osaka. Following on from that, Perak defeated JDT 2–1 and ended the club's record unbeaten streak of 26 league matches dating back to the opening fixture of the 2016 season.
During the 2017 mid-season break, JDT demoted Mora back into his previous position as the second team's head coach. The club appointed Portuguese Ulisses Morais as the new manager of the main squad. Morais led the team to its fourth consecutive league title; with JDT confirmed to have clinched the 2017 Super League title on 5 August 2017 with three games remaining.
During JDT Congress held in early October 2017, Tunku Ismail made several major moves in the state of Johor. All race-based football associations in the state were disbanded. However these teams will be allowed to continue participating as football clubs in the state competitions. As for the club, major restructuring of the organisation were made to ensure future success in both off and on-the-pitch. Amongst them were the appointment of Martín Hugo Prest as the new Sporting Director, meanwhile the previous Sporting Director, Alistair Edwards was reassigned as the club's Technical Director, responsible for all developmental teams including JDT II, with the team playing in the Malaysia Premier League as a developmental team instead of a feeder club.
After completing the league fixtures in late October 2017, JDT contested in the Malaysia Cup final against Kedah, the 2017 Malaysia FA Cup winners, whom they met earlier in the season opener in January. Playing in front of 80,000 fans at the Shah Alam Stadium, JDT seized the title from the "Red Eagles" with a 2–0 victory and clinched a double in the 2017 season.
In 2018, JDT were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia FA Cup after losing to Pahang 3–0 on aggregate. JDT also failed to defend their Malaysia Cup title, losing to Terengganu in the semi-finals. During the same season, Johor won their fifth consecutive league title.