Selangor F.C.

A state football association was founded in 1905 to establish and manage an internal state league, called the Selangor Association Football League (SAFL). The first cup competition was sponsored by the British Resident of Selangor, R.G. Watson. There were also reports that the association was led by British Residents at that time.

In 1926, an internal crisis led some officials to withdraw from the association and set up a separate association called the Selangor Football Association (SFA). The dispute between the SAFL and the SFA continued for almost ten years before the two sides negotiated back on a deal for the betterment of the future of football in the state of Selangor. Finally, the two football entities officially merged on February 22, 1936, under the name of the Football Association of Selangor (F.A.S) (Malay: Persatuan Bola Sepak Selangor) and forming Selangor FA to represent the state of Selangor.[12]

MAHA Stadium (Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association); the First Stadium

The proposal to build a stadium that can accommodate 5,000 spectators was first voiced in 1927, and from the very beginning the court was built in collaboration with MAHA (Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association) and Selangor FA. Initially three sites were nominated for this ‘venue’; at Gaol Road (now Jalan Hang Tuah), at the intersection of Jalan Bukit Bintang and Circular Road (now Jalan Tun Razak, probably the site of now Prince Court Hospital), and at Jalan Pudu.

Yet the site chosen was ultimately at the intersection of Circular Road and Jalan Ampang, and according to press reports of the time, it began construction in 1928 and was completed the following year.

The specific location of the stadium is not known, it is only said in press reports to be behind the police station at this intersection, which is the current Jalan Tun Razak Police Station.

When it was completed, MAHA was sued by the surrounding residents because it was said that the football matches held there disturbed public order. Although the suit was in favor of the stadium owners, Selangor FA only began to make the stadium their official ‘home ground’ in 1931, in the Malaya Cup against Penang FA on July 18, a match that ended in a 5-3 victory for Selangor FA.

Selangor FA played a total of 20 times at this stadium between 1931 and 1940, and won 14 times. The eight finals of the Malaya Cup were held here with Selangor FA being finalists four times. However, they won only one final, 2-0 over Singapore FA in 1935. Their last match here was nine years later, against Kedah FA in the Malaya Cup on July 20, 1940.

The aftermath of the Japanese occupation caused during World War II (1941-1945), the MAHA Stadium to be damaged, unusable and subsequently destroyed.

Now the site of the MAHA Stadium has become an area for car dealers, a shopping mall right next to the Jalan Tun Razak police station, also included in the residential and embassy areas. In this neighborhood there are several fields and open spaces owned by Kelab Aman, SJKC Chung Hwa (P), and a cricket association.

Tunku Abdul Rahman - FAS' first Malaysian president appointed in 1951

The outbreak of World War II slowed down F.A.S's efforts to develop domestic football. The effort was started aggressively as soon as the war ended. Efforts to upgrade state football continued with the association laying out plans to construct a football stadium for the state team. The state team who earlier used the MAHA Stadium at Jalan Ampang and Selangor Field Club (now Dataran Merdeka) as their home ground clearly required a stadium in line with the association's direction. The association management met the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur several times for permission to construct the stadium but a solution couldn't be found. The impasse meant that Selangor FA's home stadium plan had to be put on hold.

However, the appointment of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj as the first official F.A.S president (who also held the presidency of both the Football Association of Selangor and the Football Association of Malaysia at that time) was a right move for the association. After becoming Prime Minister of the newly independent Federation of Malaya in 1957, Tunku Abdul Rahman pioneered the stadium construction business and ordered the construction of Stadium Merdeka to celebrate the country's independence as well as being a new Selangor FA's official home stadium. Stadium Merdeka also served as the official national stadium in staging international sporting events.

After 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman vacated the presidency of the F.A.S. He was succeeded by the Independent MP for Bungsar (now known as Bangsar) constituency and also a teacher by profession, S. C. E. Singam, who became the second official F.A.S president until 1953, where he was succeeded by K. Sundram. Between 1951 to 1960, the club won 2 Malaysia Cup in 1956 and 1959, finishing as runners-up in 1957 and 2 Malaysia FAM Cups in 1953 and 1960, finishing as runners-up in 1952 and 1955.

Dato' Seri Harun Idris is synonymous with football in Selangor in the 1960s to the early 1980s. He ran as president of the FAS for 21 years from 1961 to 1983. During his leadership, Selangor FA won 15 Malaysia Cups as well as doing a lot of positive changes for the association.[13] The club was originally headquartered at the MCA building in Jalan Ampang before the construction of Wisma F.A.S in 1973 at Merdeka Stadium under the president's (who was also the Chief Minister of Selangor at the time) and club manager Hamzah Abu Samah's efforts.

In that time, the club won the Malaysia Cup 15 times in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982 as well as the Malaysia FAM Cup 5 times in 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968 and 1972.

Tan Sri Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali, who was the Chief Minister of Selangor at that time became F.A.S President from 1983 to 1989. In the 1984 Malaysian League season, under his leadership Selangor FA won their first ever Malaysian top division football league title that was first introduced with a league trophy in 1982. Additionally, Selangor FA also won the Malaysia Cup in 1984 to achieve a historic league and cup double, a first in the history of Malaysian football.

The club also won the Malaysia Cup in 1986 where club legends Mokhtar Dahari and R. Arumugam made their final appearances in a Malaysia Cup Final. In 1989, the club also won the rebranded Semi-Pro League Division 1 that replaced the Malaysian League as the country's top-flight football league and in turn was the final trophy under Ahmad Razali's leadership.

After a series of successes for Selangor FA, the F.A.S decided to end the club's tenure at Stadium Merdeka to fulfill the ambitions of the club. As a result, a all-new stadium development had to be approved and built. Finally, on January 1, 1990, a groundbreaking ceremony for the new stadium was held in Shah Alam, Selangor. With the construction of the new Shah Alam Stadium, the ground could accommodate up to 80,000 spectators at a time. Its structure is the longest free gate in the world in that era. It also become one of the major landmarks in Shah Alam, Selangor due to its impressive size and design. The stadium has been the home of Selangor FA since it opened in July 1994, after the club moved from Stadium Merdeka. F.A.S also moved to their new headquarters in Kelana Jaya, Selangor which was known as Wisma FAS in the mid-1990s. In that time, the club won the Semi-Pro League Division 1 twice in 1989 and 1990, and won the Semi-Pro League Division 2 in 1993 after suffering relegation the year before, as well as a Malaysia FA Cup triumph in 1991, a Malaysia Cup triumph in 1995 and a Malaysia Charity Shield triumph in 1990.

The period between 1996 to 2010 was Selangor FA's most successful period despite a relegation in between. In the 1996 season, with Ken Worden as head coach, they won the Malaysia Charity Shield and the Malaysia Cup. The following season, Steve Wicks was appointed as head coach and guided the club to success with a trifecta of trophies in the Malaysia Charity Shield, the Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup. Under the guidance of coach K. Rajagopal from 1999 to 2000, Selangor FA won the 2000 Premier League 1 title, which was the top-flight league in Malaysia at the time and secured their fourth league title. Ken Worden was appointed again and won the Malaysia Charity Shield and the Malaysia Cup in the 2002 season.

In the 2004 season, the club were relegated to the brand new second-division, the Malaysia Premier League. Dollah Salleh was appointed as head coach and won the 2005 Malaysia Premier League, the Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup, completing a unique treble and won immediate promotion back to the Malaysia Super League. However, in the following seasons the club did not win any trophies as this was attributed back to the club's poor management.

In the 2009 season, K. Devan was appointed as head coach and also the club manager. It was the first time in the club's history that both roles had been given to the same person. K. Devan is considered to have one of the best managerial records for the club. He won the Malaysia Super League in 2009 and 2010, the 2009 Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Charity Shield in 2009 and 2010, with 2009 triumphs being the club's second ever double winning season after the 1984 success. Incidentally as of 2021, 2010 was the last time that the club won the top-flight league in Malaysia, the Malaysia Super League.

The club went through in what is considered to be the worst period in their history having gone through 7 different head coaches. However, despite that, in 2015, the club won the Malaysia Cup for a record 33rd time under the management of former player Mehmet Duraković. That tally is still unsurpassed and the club remains as one of the most successful in the competition's history. Affairs off the pitch however were not great as management problems during the tenure of Mohamed Azmin Ali when he led the club as F.A.S President caused Selangor F.C. to vacate their home ground, the Shah Alam Stadium and the internal conflict between Exco members and management of the club also led to a decline in the club's performance on the pitch.

In July 2018, The Crown Prince of Selangor Darul Ehsan, Tengku Amir Shah (RMS) was appointed as the new president of F.A.S. He took over the seat left by Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.[14] Since Tengku Amir Shah took over the presidency, a lot of effort was made to improve the club. This began a new chapter for the club in the modern day.

In July 2019, they moved to a new 400,000-square foot facility in Section 5, Shah Alam called the Selangor FA Training Centre (now known as Selangor F.C. Training Centre) which had a three-year lease from the Government of Selangor.[15] The facility also sees the administrative headquarters of the Football Association of Selangor, club administration office, indoor training, training pitches, gym, first team lounge, physio treatment area, locker room as well as enabling the administrators and coaches to be put under one roof.[16][17][18]

On 9 October 2019, as part of the privatization effort, F.A.S decided to only manage the U17 squad, U14 squad, U12 squad, the Women's squad and focused on the association's roles in the state of Selangor.

The football team that was known as Selangor FA was managed by a newly established entity; Red Giants FC Sdn. Bhd. and the football team was rebranded as Selangor Football Club (Selangor F.C.)

Selangor F.C. also took over PKNS FC and acted as a reserve team known as Selangor F.C. II and play in the Malaysia Premier League while the existing Selangor FA U21 and Selangor FA U19 squads were known as Selangor F.C. III & IV. All 3 teams were streamlined and restructured as part of a developmental path to the first-team squad.

In early 2020 the home of the Red Giants Selangor F.C., Shah Alam Stadium, underwent closed for whole three years major renovation and rebuild work.[19][20][21][22][23][24]

Selangor F.C. badge since 2 October 2020 after the club were officially privatized and rebranded under a new entity.

F.A. Selangor badge since the 1970s

The original emblem that was first created in 1936 as a result of the merger between the Selangor Football Association (SFA) and Selangor Association Football League (SAFL) contained the symbol of the wildebeest (gaurus). In the early 1970s, the F.A. Selangor symbol the head of the wildebeest was replaced with the flag and coat of arms of Selangor and the English lettering in the F.A. Selangor emblem was written in Malay.

The crest is shaped like a shield, while the emblem on the upper part of the crest is derived from the Selangor State Council coat of arms. The colour characteristics on the crest is the main colour of the state of Selangor which symbolizes Bravery for red and Royalty for yellow.[25] Both of these colors are linked to the state flag which follows the identity of Selangor. The logo is then completed by featuring the state’s blazon on the top of it.

• Selangor F.C. II
• Selangor F.C. III
• Selangor F.C. IV

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Selangor kits.

From the 1970s onwards, the Selangor F.C. team kit was manufactured by various companies including Admiral, Puma, Adidas, Lotto, Kappa and Joma.

From 1985, the Selangor F.C. team was sponsored by various companies including Dunhill, EON, Celcom, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS), Telekom Malaysia (TM), and Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI). Since 2014, the Selangor kit has been sponsored by the Government of Selangor under the names of six state government corporations.[26] The company that sponsored the club the longest in its history was Dunhill from 1985 to 2004 with Dunhill having sponsored all the Malaysian clubs during that time before being banned by the Malaysian Health Ministry to decrease the popularity of smoking and tobacco in Malaysia.[27]

From the 2019 season, the club kits were produced and sponsored by Spanish sportswear company, Joma which covers the sponsorship of a full jersey set for the Super League squad, Premier League squad, President's Cup squad, Youth Cup squad, men's and women's futsal squad including training sets. Joma's sponsorship also covers clothing for all FAS League referees including travel casual clothing and cash sponsorship to the club. In 23 September 2021 Selangor F.C. official site announced extended partnership with Joma until 2023 season.[28]

Shah Alam Stadium – the current home of Selangor F.C.

Selangor F.C. have used several grounds throughout their history. The club's first ground was the MAHA Stadium (collaboration with Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association) at the intersection of Circular Road (Jalan Tun Razak) and Jalan Ampang, circa 1931 until 1940. According to aftermath of the Japanese occupation caused during World War II (1941-1945), the MAHA Stadium to be damaged, unusable and subsequently destroyed.

At the same time, Selangor F.C. also used Selangor Club Field (now known as Dataran Merdeka) where they played from their founding in 1936 until the independence of Malaya in 1957.

In September 1956, the club president, and also Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, ordered the construction of the Merdeka Stadium as the new home stadium for the Red Giants and also to celebrate the country's upcoming independence as well. The stadium finished construction on 21 August 1957 and was inaugurated on 31 August 1957, the day the Federation of Malaya declared independence from British rule. Right after the declaration of independence, the club played their home matches at Merdeka Stadium, which would become the club's home ground for the next 38 years. The first football match took place on 1 September 1957 which saw Malaya defeat Burma 5-2 in a friendly match. In this stadium, which hosted 20,000 spectators, Selangor F.C. celebrated its first Malaysian league title in 1984.

After some successes, the club management decided that the Merdeka Stadium was not big enough for the ambitions of the club, and thus a new stadium was built and inaugurated on 16 July 1994. This was the Shah Alam Stadium, which could host an astounding number of up to 80,372 supporters, and became the club's home stadium for 22 years until 2016. The first match at the stadium was played between Selangor F.C. and Scottish club Dundee United F.C. in an invitational tournament, which resulted in a 1-1 draw, with the first goal being scored by Billy McKinlay. Other teams in the tournament were Bayern Munich, Leeds United, the Australian Olympic team "Olyroos", and Flamengo, who won the tournament.

In 2017, an internal crisis occurred within the club management, which resulted in the resignation of the club's president, Mohamed Azmin Ali, who was also the Menteri Besar of Selangor at the time. The crisis began when executive members of the club reportedly rejected the notion of privatization of Selangor F.C., which was suggested by the club's president.[34] The crisis forced the club to move to a temporary home ground at the Selayang Stadium after the Selangor state government denied the club access to use their traditional home ground, the Shah Alam Stadium.[35][36]

The following year, the club management of Selangor F.C. decided to switch the club's home ground to the Kuala Lumpur Stadium for the 2018 season.[37] The club's president, Subahan Kamal, stated that the Kuala Lumpur Stadium could generate a higher income and that the Selayang Stadium did not meet the needed lighting criteria required by the FMLLP which is organizing body of the football league in Malaysia.[38] The Selangor F.C. originally proposed to use the club's traditional home ground, the Shah Alam Stadium and the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. However, both applications were rejected by the Selangor state government and the FMLLP respectively, with the latter's reason being that certain matches could collide with the Malaysia national football team's calendar.[39]

The club moved back to the Shah Alam Stadium in the middle of the 2018 season after the new president, The Crown Prince of Selangor Darul Ehsan, Tengku Amir Shah (RMS) was appointed.

In early 2020 the home of the Red Giants Selangor F.C., Shah Alam Stadium has closed for whole 3 years major renovation and rebuild work.[40][41][42]

In mid of 2020 season, Selangor F.C. has played in UiTM Stadium as an interim home ground regarding Shah Alam Stadium temporaly closure.

For the 2021 season until present, the Selangor F.C.'s interim home ground venue at MBPJ Stadium.

Selangor F.C. Training Centre – the current training facilities of Selangor F.C.

The training facility is located at SUK Sports Complex, Section 5, Shah Alam. The 400,000 square feet training centre named the Selangor F.C. Training Centre was officiated by the Crown Prince of Selangor Darul Ehsan, Tengku Amir Shah in a ceremony attended by Menteri Besar of Selangor Amirudin Shari, club sponsors, association Exco members and media representatives on 24 July 2019. The facility also has an office complex for the management staff and technical staff, two FIFA size pitches, gymnasium, physio treatment area, a player lounge, changing room, pantry, etc.[43]

Vizione Holdings Berhad, a strategic partner to Selangor was the biggest contributor to the construction of the RM1.5 million facility.[44]

As of 2 March 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  MAS Khairul Azhan 2 DF  MAS Quentin Cheng 3 DF  MAS Azrin Afiq 4 DF  MAS Ashmawi Yakin 5 DF  JOR Yazan Al-Arab 6 DF  MAS Zahril Azri 7 MF  MAS Mukhairi Ajmal 8 MF  MAS Nik Sharif 9 MF  MAS Hakim Hassan 10 FW  BRA Caion 12 FW  BRA Hyuri 13 DF  MAS R. Dinesh 14 DF  MAS Zikri Khalili

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  MAS Danial Asri 18 MF  MAS Halim Saari 19 FW  MAS Shahrel Fikri 21 MF  SIN Safuwan Baharudin (vice-captain) 22 DF  MAS Fazly Mazlan 23 GK  MAS Sam Somerville 25 GK  MAS Sikh Izhan Nazrel 43 MF  MAS Syahir Bashah 44 DF  MAS Sharul Nazeem 55 DF  MAS Harith Haiqal 77 MF  MAS Aliff Haiqal 88 MF  MAS Brendan Gan (captain) 99 MF  JOR Baha' Abdel-Rahman

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 FW  GHA George Attram (on loan from Accra Lions) 20 MF  MYA Hein Htet Aung 24 MF  GHA Alex Agyarkwa (on loan from Accra Lions)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  MAS K. Sarkunan (to Negeri Sembilan until 30 November 2022)

As of 13 December 2019

Name	From	To	P	W	D	L	Win%[nb 1]	Honours
Abdul Ghani Minhat	1970 1983	1973 1985						1 – Malaysia League (1984) 4 – Malaysia Cup (1971, 1972, 1973, 1984) 1 – Charity Shield (1985) 1 – FAM Cup (1972)
M. Chandran	1975 1986	1978 1988						4 – Malaysia Cup (1975, 1976, 1978, 1986) 1 – Charity Shield (1987)
Chow Kwai Lam	1979	1983						1 – Malaysia League (1980) 3 – Malaysia Cup (1979, 1981, 1982)
Khaidir Buyong	1989	1990						2 – Semi–Pro Division 1 League (1989, 1990) 1 – Charity Shield (1990)
Ken Worden	1991 1994 2002 2004	1991 1996 2003 2004						1 – FA Cup (1991) 3 – Malaysia Cup (1995, 1996, 2002) 2 – Charity Shield (1996, 2002)
Bernhard Schumm	1993	1993						1 – Semi–Pro Division 2 League (1993)
Steve Wicks	1997	1998						1 – FA Cup (1997) 1 – Malaysia Cup (1997) 1 – Charity Shield (1997)
K. Rajagopal	1999	2000						1 – Premier 1 League (2000)
Abdul Rahman Ibrahim	2001	2002						1 – FA Cup (2001)
Dollah Salleh	2005	2008						1 – Premier League (2005) 1 – FA Cup (2005) 1 – Malaysia Cup (2005)
K. Devan	2009	2011	116	78	21	17	067.24	2 – Super League (2009, 2010) 1 – FA Cup (2009) 2 – Charity Shield (2009, 2010)
Mehmet Durakovic	2013	2015	73	36	18	19	049.32	1 – Malaysia Cup (2015)

• First Division: (Malaysia League / Semi-Pro League Division 1 / Premier League / Premier League 1 / Malaysia Super League)
  • Winners (6): 1984, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2009,[56] 2010[57]
• Second Division: (Semi-Pro League Division 2 / Premier League 2 / Premier League)
  • Winners (2): 1993, 2005

• Malaysia FA Cup
  • Winners (5) (record): 1991, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009
• Malaysia Cup
  • Winners (33) (record): 1922, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1949, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969,
    1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2015[58]
• Malaysia Challenge Cup / FAM Cup (1951-1989): (As a secondary knockout competition after the Malaysia Cup)
  • Winners (7): 1953(shared), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1972
• Malaysia Charity Cup
  • Winners (8) (record): 1985, 1987, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2009, 2010

• Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League
  • Runner-up (1): 1967

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