Malaysian League
| Country | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded | 1979 (Amateur League) 1982 (League trophy introduced) 1989 (Semi-Professional League) 1994 (Professional League) 2004 (Semi-privatisation era) 2016 (Privatisation era) |
| Divisions |
Malaysia Super League Malaysia Premier League Malaysia FAM League |
| Number of teams | 12 MSL 12 MPL 18 FAM League |
| Level on pyramid | 1-3 |
| Relegation to |
Malaysian States League Liga Bolasepak Rakyat IPT Football League |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup |
| International cup(s) |
AFC Champions League AFC Cup |
The Malaysian League or also known as M-League (Liga Malaysia or Liga-M in Malay) is a terminology used to describe the association football league in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league associated within Malaysian football league system.
The concept of an annual competition between the states in Malaysia goes back more than 95 years. In 1967 the Malaya Cup was replaced by the Malaysia Cup but the essentially amateur ethos continued until the Malaysian football league was introduced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in 1979 as a 'halfway house' towards full professional status.
Malaysian football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football associations was first held in Malaysia in 1979. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup where teams compete in a one-round league before advanced to the knock-out stage. 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 where eight teams were qualified from the preliminary stage.
However, it was not until 1982 that a league trophy was introduced to recognise the winners of the preliminary stage as the league champions which then officially started the era of nationwide level amateur football league in Malaysia. Since then, the Malaysia Cup has been held after the conclusion of the league each year, with only the best-performing teams in the league qualifying for the Malaysia Cup. Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right.
In early days, Malaysian football league system consist of amateur league before the changes in 1989 when it was known fully as the Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League from 1989 to 1993. The league was divided into two divisions, Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League Division 1 and Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League Division 2.
The inaugural season of MSPFL consisted of nine teams in Division 1 and eight teams in Division 2. The Malaysian Police joined Division 2 in 1990. Games were played on a home and away basis for about four months roughly between the end of April or early May and the end of August or early September.
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