Sarawak United FC

Malaysian football club
Football club
Sarawak United
Full nameSarawak United Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hornbill
Short nameSUFC
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974) as Malaysia Malays FA
2017; 7 years ago (2017) as Selangor Malays FA
2018; 6 years ago (2018) as Selangor United
2020; 4 years ago (2020) as Sarawak United
Dissolved2024
GroundSarawak Stadium
Capacity40,000
LeagueMalaysia M3 League
2023Malaysia M3 League 12th of 13
WebsiteClub website
Home colours
Away colours
Current season

Sarawak United Football Club is a Malaysian professional football club based in Sarawak, Malaysia. The club currently play in the Malaysia M3 League the second level football league of the Malaysian football league system. The club didn't compete in the 2023 Malaysia Super League due to failed licensing appeal.

History

Founded in 1974 as the Malaysia Malays' Football Association football team, the club changed its name to Selangor Malays' Football Association football team when competing in the 2017 Malaysia FAM League season.[1] They were rebranded again as Selangor United for the 2018 Malaysia FAM Cup season.[2] Unfortunately, Selangor United did not last long in the game as the team faced financial difficulties. In 2019, the club was bought over by the FAS and the new owners subsequently rebranded the club as Sarawak United.

With FAS buying and rebranding the team, the move was a win-win situation for FAS, because thanks to the move, FAS has made sure that a team representing the Malaysian state of Sarawak is playing in the 2020 Malaysia Premier League. All that happened after the main football team run by FAS to compete in the Malaysia Premier League at the time, known as the Sarawak FA state football team, were relegated to the Malaysian third-tier division, the Malaysia M3 League in 2019.[3][4] In 2020, the Malaysia Premier League however saw the participation of two Sarawak-based football clubs with Kuching City being promoted to the Malaysia Premier League that year.

2016 season

  • Malaysia Malays' Football Association entered the Malaysian football league competition in 2016 season.[5]
  • The team is managed by the Selangor Malays' Football Association, an affiliate of Malaysia Malays' Football Association. The team finished 2016 season in seventh place.

2017 season

  • Starting from 2017 season, the team has been rebranded to Selangor Malays' Football Association as an effort to bring in local area support.[1] The club has managed advanced to second round of 2017 Malaysia FA Cup after defeating SAMB.[6][7]
  • However, they were knocked out from the tournament after a defeat of 0-3 against Perak.[8]

2018 season

  • They were re-branded again as Selangor United in 2018.[2] The club succeeded in winning the semi-final in the knock-out stage of the 2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, and were promoted to Premier League as finalists, even though they were beaten in the final 0-2 by Terengganu City.

2019 season

  • The club made their debut into professional football for the 2019 Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. They finished 9th in the league by the end of the season.
  • In the December 2019, the club were bought over by the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) after the Selangor Malays Football Association stop receiving fund from the Selangor State government and were forced to get rid of the team.[9]

New Era

2020 season

The 2020 season was Sarawak United's 1st year in their history and also first season in the Malaysia Premier League. Along with the league, the club also participated in the Malaysia FA Cup but was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. On 13 March, it was announced that the 2020 Malaysia Premier League would be suspended indefinitely, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 May, it was announced that the league would resume in September dependent on the situation at the time. Due to time constraints, the home-and-away format for the Premier League has been scrapped. Teams played each other only once. Sarawak United FC finished their 2020 Malaysia Premier League campaign with 3 Win, 2 Draw and 6 Loss after 11 match.

2021 season

Sarawak United FC Current 2021 Season Photo by Facebook Page Sarawak Team

For the 2021 season the club was strengthened with several well -known players. Among them are Malaysian National player, Norshahrul Idlan and Australian National player, Taylor Regan. The club seen as strong in every position and was selected as the team of choice to be a Champion of 2021 Malaysia Premier League. Sarawak United started the 2021 Malaysia Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Kelantan United. For the 2021 season, Sarawak United team is also the most difficult team to beat by the opposing team. Sarawak United's fort is controlled by an experienced Goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee which is not easy to beat. Imported striker from Nigeria, Uche Agba , on the other hand, emerged as the top scorer for Sarawak United.

After 17 matches in the Malaysian Premier League 2021 have been played, Sarawak United was officially promoted and eligible to play in the highest tier of the Malaysian Football League, the 2022 Malaysia Super League.

2022 season

Sarawak United was rejected from Malaysia Super League and relegation to M3 League from 2023 season.

Crest and colours

Since the club's foundation in 1974, the club have had five main crests. The first, adopted when the team was founded, its backgrounds colours of the club crest were green and red. For the 2021 Malaysia Premier League season, the team's outfield players wear black shirts, red shorts and red socks for the club's home matches.

Crest

Sarawak United uses a crest which was seen as a modified version of the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) crest for the 2020 Malaysia Premier League season. However, in 2021, Sarawak United changed the team's crest to the current one which was more reflective of the ethnic characteristics of Sarawak although the Golden Hornbill remains the team's symbol of choice.

  • Malaysia Malays' Football Association crest; first logo (1946–2016)
    Malaysia Malays' Football Association crest; first logo (1946–2016)
  • Sarawak United crest in 2021
    Sarawak United crest in 2021

Kit manufacturers

Year(s) Manufacturer
2016 Line 7
2017 Kappa
2018 SkyHawk
2019 Sportrevo
2020–2022 Joma
2023– AL Sports


Players

First-team Squad

As of January 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
5 DF Malaysia MAS Chundie Anak Rabu
6 DF Malaysia MAS Kennedy Anak Panting
7 FW Malaysia MAS Stanly Anak Kepu
11 DF Malaysia MAS Dahlan Haji Lamin
12 FW Malaysia MAS Faizal Bin Bolhi
17 MF Malaysia MAS Harry Anak Paing (Captain)
18 FW Malaysia MAS Lapik Anak Kilah
19 DF Malaysia MAS Linggie Anak Ubbu
20 MF Malaysia MAS James Wan
21 MF Malaysia MAS Muhd Ruhaizat Wahab
22 FW Malaysia MAS Christopher Enting Simon
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 FW Malaysia MAS Aaron Jeremiah
25 GK Malaysia MAS Aquila Abdul Rahman
27 DF Malaysia MAS Zamarul Ezany
28 MF Malaysia MAS Shahmi Suhardi
29 MF Malaysia MAS Askinin Powel
30 GK Malaysia MAS Awang Nur Amirul
33 DF Malaysia MAS Abbel Akwensivie
44 FW Malaysia MAS Dzul Ikram Rajeli
66 MF Malaysia MAS Azkahridhi Farhan
82 MF Malaysia MAS Romario Rizal
GK Malaysia MAS Muhd Irwan Mohd Latif
FW Malaysia MAS Alan Lagang

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Nat Player Total 2023 Malaysia M3 League
Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers:
25 GK Malaysia MAS Aquila Abdul Rahman 4 0 4 0
30 GK Malaysia MAS Awang Nur Amirul 2 0 2 0
GK Malaysia MAS Muhd Irwan 0 0 0 0
Defenders:
5 DF Malaysia MAS Rahman Ismawi 6 0 6 0
6 DF Malaysia MAS Norman Angkun 6 0 6 0
11 DF Malaysia MAS Ashri Chuchu 6 0 6 0
17 DF Malaysia MAS Nor Azizi Ramlee 6 0 6 0
19 MF Malaysia MAS Azman Chuchu 2 0 2 0
27 DF Malaysia MAS Zamarul Ezany 0 0 0 0
33 DF Malaysia MAS Abbel Akwensivie 0 0 0 0
Midfielders:
20 MF Malaysia MAS Awang Irfan Syahfeeza 4 2 4 2
21 MF Malaysia MAS Muhd Ruhaizat Wahab 5 0 5 0
28 MF Malaysia MAS Shahmi Suhardi 2 0 2 0
29 MF Malaysia MAS Nazrul Azizi 5 0 5 0
66 MF Malaysia MAS Azkahridhi Farhan 6 0 1+5 0
Forwards:
7 FW Malaysia MAS Ahnaf Ahmad 6 2 6 2
12 FW Malaysia MAS Muhd Iskandar Kumar 4 0 4 0
18 FW Malaysia MAS Alphonsus Joseph 0 0 0 0
22 FW Malaysia MAS Christopher Enting 6 1 1+5 1
24 FW Malaysia MAS Aaron Jeremiah 1 0 1 0
44 FW Malaysia MAS Dzul Ikram 0 0 0 0
77 FW Malaysia MAS Rahim Razak 6 3 6 3
FW Malaysia MAS Alan Lagang 0 0 0 0
  • Source: Sarawak United

Stadium and locations

Sarawak Stadium and Sarawak State Stadium are located adjacent to each other.

Sarawak State Stadium is located in an area of 5 hectares in Petra Jaya. Officially opened in 1989 where it was the largest stadium in Malaysia at that point of time. 3 stages of construction experiences. The second stage of construction was completed on 15 June 1989 while the third level with the addition of a block to be completed by 24 June 1991. The total cost of this State Stadium is RM22.6 million. The stadium can accommodate 26,000 spectators at a time. The stadium has been used to host Sarawak FA home matches. The stadium is adjacent to the new stadium, the Sarawak Stadium.

Location Stadium Capacity Year
Kuching Sarawak State Stadium 25,000

Season-by-season records

Club records (Since 2020 Era)

Note:

  • Pld = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, F = Goals for, A = Goals against, D = Goal difference, Pts= Points, Pos = Position

  1st or Champions   2nd or Runner-up   3rd place   Promotion   Relegation

Season League Cup Asia
Division Pld W D L F A D Pts Pos Charity Malaysia Challenge FA Competition Result
2020 Malaysia Premier League 11 3 2 6 14 16 -2 11 10th Cancelled Cancelled
2021 20 11 5 4 37 14 23 38 2nd Quarter-Final Cancelled
2022 Malaysia Super League 22 5 2 15 19 50 -31 17 11th Round of 16 Second Round (Best Of 16)
2023 M3 League 24 1 1 22 18 80 -62 4 12th

Club top scorer (since 2020 era)

Season Player Goals
2020 Liberia Patrick Wleh 5
2021 Nigeria Uche Agba 19
2022 Cambodia Boris Kok 4

Foreign players (Since 2020 Era)

Season Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5
2020 Malaysia Premier League Brazil Demerson Argentina Gabriel Guerra Liberia Patrick Wleh Iran Milad Zanidpour Argentina Nicolás Marotta
2021 Malaysia Premier League Australia Taylor Regan Brazil Sandro South Korea Lee Chang-hoon Nigeria Uche Agba
2022 Malaysia Super League Argentina Gonzalo Soto Togo Francis Koné South Korea Lee Chang-hoon Nigeria Uche Agba Cambodia Boris Kok

Managers/Head Coach

Managers/Head Coach (Since 2020 Era)

Name From To Honours
Spain Juan Carlos Magro December 2019 March 2020  —
Malaysia E. Elavarasan March 2020 February 2022 2021 Malaysia Premier League runner-up
Malaysia B. Sathianathan (Interim) March 2022 July 2022  —
Malaysia S. Balachandran July 2022 May 2023  —
Malaysia Ahmad Nurfaizal Patrick Abdullah May 2023 Now  —

Development squads

As of 10 June 2020

U21 squad

No. Name Nationality Position(s) D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1 Aquila Abdul Rhaman Malaysia GK 2000
18 Anthony Ibong Bauk Malaysia GK 27/3/01
19 Mohd Shahyudin Mohd Salehin Malaysia GK 19/4/00
23 Khairul Lukman Hakim Hairudin Malaysia GK 2000
Defenders
2 Sebatian Darvin Jemat Malaysia RB, RWB 2000
3 Porni Sanat Malaysia LB, LWB 2000
5 Muhammad Fareez Aiman Omar Ali Malaysia CB 2000
22 Darius Maidonny Tingang Malaysia CB 2000
24 Asnawi Ishak Malaysia RB, LWB 2000
25 Dicky Vester Ngindang Malaysia LB, LWB 2000
26 Joehansen Ambas Ambun Malaysia CB 2001
29 Gibson Billy Malaysia CB 13/1/00
30 Abbel Akwensivie Malaysia CB 2000
Midfielders
4 Iskandar Shah Mohd Jamil Kilin Malaysia CM 2000
6 Abang Azri Fikri Abang Saufee Malaysia DM/CM 2000
8 Muhammad Yusry Haziq Idris Malaysia RW/RM 18/1/02
12 Norman Angkun Malaysia LW/LM 2001
15 Abang Ahmad Eizhan Abang Kassim Malaysia CM 2000
16 Aiman Joanny Malaysia LW/LM 2001
17 Hazroy Abdullah Malaysia AM/CM 2000
20 Hidayathullah Hasli Malaysia RW/RM 2000
27 Rosziele Roba Malaysia CM 2000
Forwards
7 Mohd Firdaus Sajali Malaysia ST 2000
9 Muhammad Dzul Ikram Rajeli Malaysia ST 2000
10 Alphonsus Joseph Willie Malaysia ST 2000
11 Hamirul Haidi Haida Malaysia ST/LW 2000
13 Muhammad Faris Abdul Manaf Malaysia ST 5/11/99
21 Mohd Amahrol Haili Malaysia ST 2000

Source:[10]

U19 squad

No. Name Nationality Position(s) D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1 Bellynie Allister Balawan Malaysia GK 2001
22 Awang Nur Amirul Taqwa Awang Nor Azeman Malaysia GK 2002
25 Elvison Pedari Malaysia GK 2001
30 Vincent Sigar Yahaya Malaysia GK 2002
Defenders
2 Steve Selutan Sakai Malaysia RB/RWB 23/1/01
3 Glady Ester George Malaysia LB/LWB 2002
4 Nail As'ad Nadzar Malaysia CB 2002
5 Andrye Joe Austine Malaysia CB 2001
7 Albertine Indera Malaysia LB, LWB 2001
14 Mirza Aiman Salleh Malaysia CB 2002
15 Gabriel Batistuta Durling Malaysia CB 2001
16 Nicky Flockhart Sempuh Malaysia RB, RWB 2002
23 Nasrull Zikri Nadzar Malaysia LB, LWB 2001
Midfielders
8 Gideon Apoi Ganang Malaysia CM 2002
9 Mohd Hazazi Harsi Malaysia LW/LM 2002
10 Muhammad Fahmi Aimanuddin Taip Malaysia AM/CM 2002
13 Shane Thomas Baru Malaysia RW/RM 2001
18 Samuel Kuta Antas Malaysia LW/LM 2002
19 David Sepetok Malaysia CM 17/5/02
28 Chong Aik King Malaysia RW/RM 2001
29 Robie Uvat Robert Malaysia CM 2002
Forwards
6 Azkaharridhi Farhan Hasnan Malaysia ST 2001
11 Hilary Henry Malaysia ST 2002
17 Hazrey Abdullah Malaysia ST 2002
20 Calvin Chong Jen Yek Malaysia ST 2002
21 Clement Ajai Michael Sap Malaysia ST 2001
24 Harith Danielle Abdullah Malaysia ST 2002
27 Hudson Osa Malaysia ST 2002

Source:[11]

Management team

Club personnel

Position Name
President Malaysia Dato' Posa Majais
Manager Malaysia Abang Fomay Abang Saadeli
Head coach Malaysia Ahmad Nurfaizal Patrick Abdullah
Assistant coach Malaysia Benedict Martin
Goalkeeper coach Malaysia
Fitness coach Malaysia Faroukh Othman
Team Doctor Malaysia Yau May Yann
Physiotherapist Malaysia Carlvin Stakeith
Kitman Malaysia Nazrul Amry
U21 Manager Malaysia Phillip Jabu
U21 Assistant Manager Malaysia Abdilah Majid
U21 Head Coach Malaysia Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Yunus
U21 Assistant Coach Malaysia Faroukh Othman
U21 Fitness Coach Malaysia Jefry Lana
U21 Goalkeeper Coach Malaysia Jahar Nor
U21 Physiotherapist Malaysia Carlvin Stakeith Gary
U19 Manager Malaysia Arbi Lai
U19 Assistant Manager Malaysia Sonei Sekan
U19 Head Coach Malaysia David Usop
U19 Assistant Coach Malaysia Pengiran Bala
U19 Coach Malaysia Hamri Ali
Malaysia Mohamad Ishya Sabu
Malaysia Ismail Lumut
U19 Fitness Coach Malaysia Fadillah Ibrahim
U19 Goalkeeper Coach Malaysia Saller Ampulig
U19 Physiotherapist Malaysia Valentino Joummy

Honours

Domestic

League

2nd place, silver medalist(s)Runners-up (1): 2018
2nd place, silver medalist(s)Runners-up (1): 2021

References

  1. ^ a b "Keputusan Undian Piala FAM dan Belia 2017". FAM.org.my. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  2. ^ a b "Wajah baru inspiraai Selangor United capai kejayaan". SinarHarian.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  3. ^ "Kuching welcome participation of Sarawak United in Premier League". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  4. ^ "Kuching FA naik pangkat, Sarawak ke Liga M3". BHOnline. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  5. ^ "Five new teams make it to FAM League". FootballSentral.com. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  6. ^ http://www.mstar.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/2017/02/05/piala-fa/ Archived 2017-02-06 at the Wayback Machine Felcra FA, PBMS FC Lepasi Pusingan Pertama Piala FA
  7. ^ http://footballmalaysia.com/portal/index.php/2017/02/06/felcra-fc-pbms-fc-sime-darby-fc-layak-ke-pusingan-kedua-piala-fa-2017/ Archived 2017-08-18 at the Wayback Machine Felcra FC, PBMS FC & Sime Darby FC Layak ke Pusingan Kedua Piala FA 2017
  8. ^ http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3889/main/2017/02/16/32732612/pbms-not-perturbed-by-defeat-to-perak-as-they-switches-over Archived 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine PBMS tried their level best but were undone against far stronger opposition in Perak as they exit the 2017 FA Cup.
  9. ^ "Sarawak gobble up Selangor United". thestar.com.my. Archived from the original on 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  10. ^ "Sarawak United U21 2020". FAM. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Sarawak United U19 2020". FAM. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

External links

  • Sarawak Football News site
  • Official Sarawak United site
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