The Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League (Malay: Liga A1 Semi-Pro Malaysia, previously known as the Malaysia M3 League, currently known as the MBSB Bank Championship due to sponsorship reasons) is the second level football league of the Malaysian football league system.[1] The league was created as part of the Malaysian Football League's plan to reform the domestic league structure, and replacement of the former Malaysia FAM League.[2]
 | |
| Organising body | Malaysian Football League (MFL) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 13 January 2019 |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Malaysia Super League |
| Relegation to | Malaysia A2 Amateur League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup MFL Challenge Cup |
| Current champions | Immigration FC (1st title) (2023) |
| Most championships | Kelantan Darul Naim PIB Shah Alam Immigration FC (1 title each) |
| TV partners | MYTV |
| Current: 2024–25 Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League | |
History
In 2018, the Malaysia M3 League was supposed to form the fourth division of the Malaysian football league system. However, after the Football Association of Malaysia confirmed a reform of the Malaysia FAM League to return to a knockout competition format, the league was announced as a replacement for the Malaysia FAM League to form the de facto third division of the Malaysian football league system.[3][4][5][6]
After a rebranding of the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) to the Malaysian Football League (MFL) in March 2018, the company announced a reform of the lower league competitions in Malaysia.[7][8] In 2019, a new subsidiary of the company was formed, known as the Amateur Football League (AFL) which was tasked to manage the new third division and below.[9] The AFL officially confirmed the formation of the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth divisions of the Malaysian football league system.[10]
A total of 14 clubs were confirmed to compete in the inaugural season of the newly reformed third division, with the Malaysia M3 League replacing the former Malaysia FAM League.[11] Qualified champions from the 5 FA State leagues and 9 Social leagues in 2018 were promoted to the inaugural 2019 Malaysia M3 League season.
For the 2020 season, the Malaysia M3 League was divided into two groups of 10 teams.[12] At the end of the season, the top team from each group was promoted to the Malaysia Premier League.[13] This however did not happen because of the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was declared null and void.[14]
For the 2021 season, the AFL announced format changes for the Malaysia M3 League and Malaysia M4 League in preparation for more participating teams to become professional by 2022. However, due to the pandemic, AFL postponed the start of the season to late 2021, before cancelling it altogether.[15]
Champions, runners-up and third places
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Kelantan United |
 Kuching City FC |
 Armed Forces FC |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2022 |  PIB Shah Alam |
KL Rovers |
 Immigration FC |
| 2023 | Immigration FC |
KL Rovers |
Harini |
Wins by the clubs
| Club | Wins |
|---|---|
| Kelantan United FC |
1 |
| PIB Shah Alam |
1 |
| Immigration FC |
1 |
Performance by club (2019–present)
| Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Kelantan United | 1 (2019) | |
| PIB Shah Alam | 1 (2022) | |
| Immigration FC | 1 (2023) | |
| KL Rovers | 2 (2022, 2023) | |
| Kuching City FC | 1 (2019) |
Season
The following 14 clubs contested the league in its inaugural season, including the 3 clubs from the 2018 Malaysia FAM League. 10 clubs were promoted from the 2018 Malaysia M4 League (previously known as the Malaysia M5 League). 4 clubs have withdrawn from the competition and 1 club was invited by the organizer to participate in the competition which were Tun Razak City F.C.
| Club | Previous league in 2018 |
Position in 2018 |
First season in third-tier |
First season in M3 League |
Seasons in third-tier |
Seasons in M3 League |
First season of current spell in M3 League |
Title wins | Last title win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed Forces | Malaysia FAM League | 3rd | 2018 | 2019 | 1 | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Banggol Tok Ku | Terengganu Amateur League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Harini F.C. | South Selangor League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Dak-dak Melawati | Selangor Social Premier League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Langkawi City | Subang Football League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Johor Bahru | Johor Darul Ta’zim League | 1st | 2019 | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - | ||
| Kelantan United | Malaysia FAM League | 7th | 2016 | 2019 | 3 | 1 | 2019 | 1 | 2019 |
| Kuching City | Malaysia FAM League | 4th | 2017 | 2019 | 2 | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Penjara | PBNS President Cup League | 1st | 2009 | 2019 | 4 | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Protap | Shah Alam League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Manjung City | Puchong Community League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| SAMB | Melaka Division 1 League | 1st | 2016 | 2019 | 3 | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Tun Razak | - | 2019 | - | 1 | 2019 | 0 | - | ||
| Ultimate | AXA Klang Valley League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
Note :
1)Third-tier also represents the previous third-tier in the Malaysian football league system which was the Malaysia FAM League (2008–2018)
2)Batu Dua changed their name to Harini F.C.[16]
Other clubs
The following clubs are not competing in the Malaysia M3 League during the 2019 season, but competed in the third-tier or Malaysia M3 League for at least one season.
| Club | Current League | Position in 2018 |
First season in third-tier |
First season in M3 League |
Seasons in third-tier |
Seasons in M3 League |
Most recent season in M3 League |
Title wins | Last title win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D'AR Wanderers | - | 3rd in FAM League (Group B) | |||||||
| Kuala Lumpur City Hall | - | 6th in FAM League (Group A) | |||||||
| Terengganu Hanelang | - | ||||||||
| Marcerra United | - | ||||||||
| Ministry of Finance | - | ||||||||
| Sarawak United | Malaysia Super League | 1st in FAM League (Group A) | |||||||
| Perlis | 5th in FAM League (Group B) | ||||||||
| Petaling Jaya Rangers | FAS Super League | 2nd in FAM League (Group B) | |||||||
| Shahzan Muda | |||||||||
| Terengganu City | 1st in FAM League (Group B) | ||||||||
| Young Fighters | |||||||||
| FELCRA | - | 2nd in Premier League | |||||||
| KDMM | |||||||||
| Sime Darby | |||||||||
| UKM | 8th in Premier League |
Note : Third-tier also represents the previous third-tier in the Malaysian football league system which was the Malaysia FAM League (2008–2018)
Records and achievements
Golden Boot winners
Below is the list of golden boot winners of the league since its inception in 2019.
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Fakhrul Zaman |
Kelantan | 28 |
| 2022 | Firdaus Azizul |
Immigration | 22 |
| 2023 | Azim Rahim |
Immigration | 24 |
See also
References
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