The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It has been affiliated with FIFA since 1954. The FAM oversees the organisation and development of football and advancing the game at all levels in Malaysia, and is responsible for all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory. This includes the men's, women's and youth national football teams as well as the Malaysian Amateur Football League and Malaysia Premier Futsal League.
History
Pre-independence football The British introduced football to Malaya, and the locals quickly embraced the game, making it the country's leading sport. By the late 19th century, football had become a central activity in most sports clubs across Malaya, though it lacked proper structure. The establishment of the Selangor Amateur Football League in 1905 brought some administration and organization, but the competition remained limited to clubs in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1921, the battleship HMS Malaya visited the country. After competing in football and rugby matches with local teams, the officers and crew decided to commemorate the games by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both sports. This led to the establishment of a national football tournament involving all states in Malaya. Known initially as the Malaya Cup—later renamed the Malaysia Cup in 1963—the competition has been held continuously, except during the war years.
In 1906, the Selangor Association Football League was officially established.Muhammad Fitrie bin Mohd Fudzi. A Socio-Cultural History of Football in Malaya, 1880–1950. Master's diss., International Islamic University Malaysia, 2025. pp. 69. The SAFL was responsible for the administration of league competitions in Selangor.Ibid, pp. 72 As soon league football gained firm in Selangor, the Selangor Football Association established a new tournament known as SFA Cup in 1926.Ibid, pp. 73 This association began organizing tournaments, which inspired other states in Malaya to follow suit. Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak demonstrated a parallel institutional development in football governance, as Malacca established its football association in 1924, followed by Negeri Sembilan and Perak in 1926.Ibid, pp. 33-34.
In 1932, the MFA was reorganized into the Football Association of Malaya (FAM). The committee decided to choose Kuala Lumpur as the headquarters due to its strategic geographical location.Ibid, pp. 99. and the FAM took on responsibility for running the Malaya Cup competition.
The first FAM president was Sir Andrew Caldecott, followed by M.B. Shelley, Dr. J.S. Webster, S.D. Scott, R. Williamson, and Adrian Clark, who served until 1940. As Europe entered full-scale war with Germany, FAM operations moved from Singapore to Malaya, and A.R. Singham became the first Asian secretary in 1941. After the war, J.E. King became FAM's president, succeeded by H.P. Byson and then Dr. C. Rawson, who served for two years before the position was taken over by the first non-British president.
In 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman—later Malaysia's first Prime Minister—was appointed as FAM president. Under his leadership, football in Malaysia entered a new phase, with the FAM playing a more prominent role beyond organizing the Malaysia Cup.
In 1956, FAM became one of the 14 founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Two years later, it achieved full membership in FIFA.
After independence Tunku Abdul Rahman's passion for football played a pivotal role in the construction of the Merdeka Stadium, which in 1957 became a historic site as the venue for Malaysia's independence declaration from Britain.
The stadium also marked the beginning of the Merdeka Tournament (Pestabola Merdeka), which was popularly referred to as the 'Mini Asia Cup' from the 1960s to the 1980s. The tournament was a significant success and inspired similar events such as the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament in Indonesia, the King's Cup in Thailand, and the President's Cup in South Korea. The inaugural tournament—then the premier football competition in Asia—was won by Hong Kong. Malaya claimed the title three consecutive times, winning in 1958 and 1959, and sharing it with South Korea in 1960. The country later qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
In the early 1960s, the organization's name was officially changed to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Tunku Abdul Rahman continued to promote football development, particularly through youth competitions, until his resignation in 1974. His successor, Malaysia's second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, held the post for one year before Hamzah Abu Samah took over in 1976. Hamzah, who was the Minister of Trade and Industry, introduced several initiatives to develop the sport.
Between 1976 and 1984, numerous football programs were implemented under Hamzah's leadership. The FAM entered a new phase when the Sultan of Pahang, Haji Ahmad Shah, assumed leadership. His tenure saw the introduction of the semi-professional league in 1989, which eventually transitioned into full professionalism. Despite these efforts, success on the international stage for Malaysia's national team remained elusive.
One of the highlights of Malaysian football history was hosting the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Domestically, the league underwent several transformations, culminating in the establishment of the Malaysia Super League (M-League) in 2004. However, the national team suffered significant defeats in international competitions during this period.
On 13 September 2018, FAM received the AFC Dream Asia Award in the Developing Category. In 2019, FAM was also awarded the AFC Dream Asia Award (Bronze) in the Inspiring Category.
On 26 September 2025, FAM and seven Malaysian heritage players–Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel–were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. FAM was fined CHF 350,000 (around RM 1.9million), whereas each player was fined CHF 2,000 (around MR 10,560) and was suspended from football related activities for 12 months. FAM has confirmed an appeal against FIFA's sanctions. On 3 November 2025, the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected FAM's appeal. In light of the footballers naturalization falsification scandal, on 28 January 2026, all FAM exco members resign en masse.
Associations affiliation There are 20 Football Associations affiliated to the FAM. Besides the 14 FAs with regional location, six others are affiliated units.
State affiliation State Football association Established Johor Football Association (JFA) 1955 Kedah Football Association (KFA) 1924 Football Association of Kelantan (KAFA) 1948 Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) 1975 Melaka Football Association (MAFA) 1924 Negeri Sembilan Football Association (NSFA) 1923 Football Association of Pahang (PBNP) 1959 Football Association Penang (FAP) 1921 Perak Football Association (PAFA) 1921 Football Association of Perlis (PFA) 1963 Sabah Football Association (SAFA) 1950 Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) 1974 Football Association of Selangor (FAS) 1936 Football Association of Terengganu (TFA) 1956
Ethnic affiliation Ethnicity Football association Malaysian Malays Malaysian Malay's Football Association (PBMM) Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese Football Association (MCFA) Malaysian Indians Malaysian Indian Sports Council (MISC)
Uniformed service affiliation Uniformed service Football association Royal Malaysian Police Royal Malaysian Police Football Association (RMPFA) Malaysian Armed Forces Malaysian Armed Forces Football Association (AFFA)
Professional affiliation Profession Association Coaches Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM) Players Malaysian Professional Players Association (PFAM) Referees Association of Referees
Super League affiliation State Club Johor Darul Ta'zim Kelantan Red Warrior Kuala Lumpur City Kuching City Melaka Negeri Sembilan Royal Malaysian Police PDRM Penang Sabah Selangor Star City Terengganu
Collaboration projects
Competitions The Football Association of Malaysia had run all top football competitions in Malaysia until 2015, when the Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP), which is now known as the Malaysian Football League (MFL) was formed as part of the privatisation of the Malaysian football league system. The MFL took over all the top professional football competition previously managed by the FAM. The list below are the competitions which are managed by the Malaysia Football League since it inception in 2015:
Liga Super Liga Premier (until 2022) Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League Malaysia A2 Amateur League Malaysia A3 Community League Piala FA Piala Malaysia MFL Challenge Cup Piala Sumbangsih (Super Cup) MFL Cup (U23)
FAM also focuses on youth development football, women football and futsal leagues and tournaments in Malaysia. Malaysia National Women's League Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah Piala Presiden (U21) Piala Belia (U19) Liga Puteri-FAM (U16) MPFL Division 1 MPFL Division 2 Malaysia Premier Futsal League (Women) Malaysia Futsal Cup Malaysia Futsal Cup (Women)
Awards
Principals
+Office-holdersOfficeNameTenurePresidentSir Andrew Caldecott1932–1933 M.B. ShelleyJ.S. WebsterS.D. ScottR. WilliamsonAdrian Clark1938–1940J.E. King1947–1948H.P. Byson1948–1949C. Rawson1949–1951Tunku Abdul Rahman1958–1974Abdul Razak Hussein1975–1976Hamzah Abu Samah1976–1983Ahmad Shah of Pahang1984–2014Abdullah of Pahang2014–2017Tunku Ismail Idris2017–2018Hamidin Mohd Amin2018–2025Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub2025Dato’ Ab Ghani Bin Hassan2026–
+Office-holdersOfficeNameTenureGeneral SecretaryA.R. Singham1941Kwok Kin Keng1948–1979T.P. Murugasu1980–1987Paul Mony Samuel1988–2000Dell Akbar Khan2000-2005Ibrahim Saad2005–2007Azzuddin Ahmad2007–2013Hamidin Mohd Amin2013–2018Stuart Ramalingam2018–2021Mohd Saifuddin Abu Bakar2021–2024Noor Azman Hj Rahman2025–2029
NamePositionSource Mohd Yusoff MahadiActing President S SivasundaramVice President Rosmadi Ismail2nd Vice President Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin3rd Vice President Dollah Salleh4th Vice President Saaran Nadarajah5th Vice President Noor Azman Hj RahmanGeneral Secretary Ismail KarimTreasurer Scott O'DonellAdvisor & Agent Tan Cheng HoeTechnical Director Peter Cklamovski Team Coach (Men's) Joel CornelliTeam Coach (Women's) Hishamuddin Abdul KarimMedia/Communications Manager P SentikumarFutsal Coordinator Kassim Kadir BachaReferee Coordinator
Management
Executive committee President: Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub Deputy President: Yusoff Mahadi, S. Sivasundaram Vice-president: Rosmadi Ismail, Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin, Dollah Salleh, Saaran Nadarajah Other members: Zainal Abidin Hassan, Hishamuddin Abdul Karim, Mohd Hisamudin Yahaya, Mohd Azizudin Mohd Shariff, Tang Chee Hong, Kamarudin Hassan, Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, Sugumaran Parthasarathy
FAM Judiciary
Disciplinary Chairman: Baljit Singh Sidhu Deputy chairman: Abd Shukor Ahmad
Appeals Chairman: Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff Deputy chairman: Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif
Club licencing
First Instance Body Chairman: Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif
Appeals Body Chairman: Wirdawati Mohd Radzi
Treasurer Chairman: Ismail Karim
National teams Chairman: Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub
Malaysia national football team Manager: Peter Cklamovski
Malaysia national under-23 football team Manager:Nafuzi Zain Malaysia national under-22 football team Manager: Nafuzi Zain
Malaysia national under-19 football team Manager: Juan Torres Garrido