Kuala Lumpur City
Full nameKuala Lumpur City Football Club
Nickname(s)The City Boys[1][2]
Short nameKL City FC, KLCFC
Founded1974 (1974)
(as Federal Territory)[3]
GroundKuala Lumpur Stadium
Capacity18,000
OwnerRinani Group Berhad
Kuala Lumpur Football Association[4]
PresidentFahmi Fadzil
Head coachNenad Baćina
LeagueMalaysia Super League
2023Malaysia Super League, 7th of 14
WebsiteClub website

Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, known simply as KL City FC, is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Malaysian football, and was founded in 1974 as Federal Territory by the Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA). It was later renamed Kuala Lumpur FA and Kuala Lumpur United, before renaming to its current name in 2021.

Kuala Lumpur City won two Malaysian league titles, four Malaysian Cups, three Malaysian FA Cups, and three Malaysian Charity Shields. It also played in the group stages of the Asian Club Championship on two occasions.

Following its founding, a fierce rivalry developed between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor mainly due to their geographical location. The battle between these two teams is often referred to as the Klang Valley Derby, which was renewed in the 2010 season after Kuala Lumpur ended a seven-year spell in the second-tier with promotion to the Malaysia Super League. Kuala Lumpur were relegated to the second-tier Malaysia Premier League in 2012 and the following year, in 2013, Kuala Lumpur were relegated to the third-tier Malaysia FAM League for the first time in its history.

History

Kuala Lumpur had its most successful period in the late 1980s when they won the national league twice, in 1986 and 1988.[5] They also won the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years (1987, 1988 and 1989).[6] The team enjoyed considerable success in cup competitions in the 1990s, winning the Malaysian FA Cup in 1993, 1994 and 1999.[6] Kuala Lumpur won the Malaysian Charity Shield on three occasions, in 1988, 1995 and 2000.[6]

In September 2020, the club was privatized in accordance to the privatization process by the Football Association of Malaysia and was renamed as Kuala Lumpur United.[7][8] In December 2020, Stanley Bernard was named the new CEO of the club.[9]

In March 2021, prior to the 2021 Malaysia Super League season, the team changed its name to Kuala Lumpur City.[10] During the same season, Kuala Lumpur City defeated Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0 in the final of the 2021 Malaysia Cup, winning the cup for the first time in 32 years.[11]

In February 2023, Rinani Group Berhad acquired a majority stake in the club.[4]

Players

Current squad

As of 25 October 2023[12]

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 Philippines PHI Kevin Ray Mendoza
3 DF Malaysia MAS Muhammad Faudzi
4 DF Malaysia MAS Kamal Azizi
5 DF Croatia CRO Matko Zirdum
6 DF Malaysia MAS Ryan Lambert
7 FW Colombia COL Romel Morales
8 MF Malaysia MAS Zhafri Yahya
9 DF Australia AUS Giancarlo Gallifuoco
11 FW Philippines PHI Patrick Reichelt
12 DF Malaysia MAS Declan Lambert
14 MF Malaysia MAS Akram Mahinan
15 DF Malaysia MAS Khair Jones
17 FW Malaysia MAS Sean Giannelli
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF Italy ITA Sebastian Avanzini
20 GK Malaysia MAS Azim Al-Amin
21 MF Malaysia MAS Kenny Pallraj
23 FW Ivory Coast CIV Kipré Tchétché
25 DF Malaysia MAS Anwar Ibrahim
26 MF Malaysia MAS Saravanan Thirumurugan
28 MF Malaysia MAS Paulo Josué (captain)
30 GK Malaysia MAS Azri Ghani
33 DF Malaysia MAS Juzaerul Jasmi
37 FW Malaysia MAS Haqimi Azim
48 FW Malaysia MAS Faizal Hafiq
49 MF Malaysia MAS Hadi Mizei
77 DF Malaysia MAS Nazirul Naim

Management and coaching staff

Position Staff[12]
Team manager Malaysia Sheikh Muhammad Haris Abdullah
Technical director Malaysia Nidzam Adzha[13]
Head coach Croatia Nenad Baćina
Assistant head coach Croatia Miroslav Kuljanac
Assistant coaches Croatia Miro Petrić
Malaysia Muhammad Shukor Adan
Goalkeeper coaches Malaysia Saiful Amar Sudar
Brazil Guilherme Azevedo
Fitness coach Malaysia Muhammad Afeeq Aqmal Noorazimi
Team doctors Malaysia Muhammad Hannan Haziq Elias
Malaysia Ahmad Izuddin Abdul Manaf
Malaysia Mohd Adzlan Mohd Amin
Physiotherapists Malaysia Afiqfuddin Salleh
Malaysia Renesh Prabaharan
Team admin Malaysia Sheikh Muhammad Haris Abdullah
Media officer Malaysia Syafiq Khir Anuar
Team analyst Malaysia Mohd Rahim Meman
Masseurs Malaysia Hamzah Zakaria
Malaysia Iqbal Afiq Azmi
Kit managers Malaysia Shahrulnizan Idris
Malaysia Abdul Haadi Qayyum

List of head coaches

Years Nat. Name Achievement
1979–1981 Malaysia Yunus Tasman
1982–1984 Malaysia S. Subramaniam
1985–1986 Czech Republic Jozef Vengloš 1986 League Championship
1987–1989 Malaysia Chow Kwai Lam 1987 Malaysia Cup
1988 Malaysia Cup
1989 Malaysia Cup
1988 League Championship
1988 Charity Shield Cup
1989 ASEAN Club Championship
1990 Czech Republic Jozef Jankech
1991 Czech Republic Milouš Kvaček
1992 Malaysia Chow Kwai Lam
1993 Malaysia S. Subramaniam 1993 Malaysia FA Cup
1994 England Ken Shellito 1994 Malaysia FA Cup
1995 – May 1998 Malaysia Chow Kwai Lam 1995 Charity Shield Cup
May 1998 – June 2000 Malaysia Mat Zan Mat Aris 1999 Malaysia FA Cup
2000 Charity Shield Cup
June 2000 – December 2000 Malaysia Lim Kim Lian
2001–2002 Iraq Wathiq Naji
2001–2002 Malaysia Lim Kim Lian
2003 Slovakia Igor Novak
2004–2007 Malaysia Mat Zan Mat Aris
January 2008 Germany Hans Jurgen Gede
April 2008 – 2012 Malaysia Razip Ismail
2013 Slovakia Stanislav Leiskovsky
2014 Malaysia Tang Siew Seng
January 2015 Portugal Ricardo Formosinho
April 2015 Malaysia Tang Siew Seng
December 2015 – November 2016 Malaysia Ismail Zakaria
December 2016 – March 2017 Brazil Wanderley Junior
March 2017 – September 2018 Brazil Fábio Magrão 2017 Malaysia Premier League
December 2018 – March 2019 Malaysia Yusri Che Lah
March 2019 – June 2019 Malaysia Chong Yee Fatt
July 2019 – November 2019 Malaysia Rosle Md Derus
January 2020 – November 2020 Malaysia Nidzam Adzha
January 2021 – July 2023 Croatia Bojan Hodak 2021 Malaysia Cup
July 2023 – present Croatia Nenad Baćina

Honours

Domestic

League

Cup

  • Federal Territory Minister Cup
    • Winners (2): 2021,[14] 2023[15]
    • Runners-up (1): 2022

Continental

1987: Group stage (2nd in Group B)
1989–90: Group stage (2nd in Group A)
1994–95: Quarter-finals
  • AFC Cup
    • Runners-up (1): 2022
  • ASEAN Champions' Cup
    • Winners (2): 1987, 1989[16]

U21 team

Season-by-season record

Season Division Position Malaysia Cup Malaysian FA Cup Malaysian Charity Shield Continental
As Federal Territory
1979 Preliminary 16th of 17 Did not qualify — — —
1980 Preliminary 17th of 17 Did not qualify — — —
1981 Preliminary 14th of 17 Did not qualify — — —
1982 League Cup 2nd of 16 Quarter-finals — — —
1983 League Cup 8th of 16 Quarter-finals — — —
1984 League Cup 4th of 16 Quarter-finals — — —
1985 League Cup 5th of 16 Runners-up — — —
1986 League Cup 1st of 16 Quarter-finals — — —
As Kuala Lumpur
1987 League Cup 2nd of 17 Winners — Runners-up ACC – Group stage (2nd)
1988 League Cup 1st of 17 Winners — Winners —
1989 Division 1 2nd of 9 Winners — Runners-up ACC – Group stage (2nd)
1990 Division 1 4th of 10 QF Group A (3rd of 4) First round Runners-up —
1991 Division 1 4th of 10 Semi-finals Semi-finals — —
1992 Division 1 5th of 10 Semi-finals Runners-up — —
1993 Division 1 9th of 10 Did not qualify Winners — —
1994 Liga Perdana 11th of 16 Did not qualify Winners Runners-up ACWC – Quarter-finals
1995 Liga Perdana 11th of 15 Did not qualify R1 Group E (3rd of 4) Winners —
1996 Liga Perdana 14th of 15 Did not qualify First round — —
1997 Liga Perdana 9th of 15 QF Group A (4th of 5) Quarter-finals — —
1998 Perdana 1 8th of 12 QF Group A (4th of 5) Semi-finals — —
1999 Perdana 1 5th of 10 QF Group B (5th of 6) Winners — —
2000 Perdana 1 8th of 12 QF Group B (3rd of 4) Semi-finals Winners —
2001
Details		 Perdana 1 10th of 12 QF Group A (4th of 4) Second round — —
2002 Perdana 1 13th of 14 Did not qualify Second round — —
2003 Perdana 2 5th of 12 Did not qualify First round — —
2004 Liga Premier Group B 3rd of 13 R1 Group C (4th of 4) Second round — —
2005 Liga Premier Group A 4th of 8 R1 Group C (4th of 4) Semi-finals — —
2006 Liga Premier Group B 5th of 8 Did not qualify First round — —
2007 Liga Premier 7th of 11 R1 Group A (3rd of 6) First round — —
2008 Liga Premier 12th of 13 R1 Group B (4th of 6) Second round — —
2009 Liga Premier 4th of 13 R1 Group C (3rd of 4) Second round — —
2010
Details		 Super League 9th of 14 R1 Group B (4th of 4) Second round — —
2011
Details		 Super League 12th of 14 R1 Group D (3rd of 4) Quarter-finals — —
2012
Details		 Super League 14th of 14 Did not qualify Second round — —
2013 Premier League 11th of 12 Did not qualify First round — —
2014 FAM League 2nd of 12 Did not qualify First round — —
2015 Premier League 11th of 12 Did not qualify Third round — —
2016 Premier League 5th of 12 R1 Group B (4th of 4) Quarter-finals — —
2017
Details		 Premier League 1st of 12 Group Stage Second round — —
2018
Details		 Super League 10th of 12 Group Stage Quarter-finals — —
2019
Details		 Super League 12th of 12 Did not qualify Quarter-finals — —
2020
Details		 Premier League 3rd of 12 Cancelled[lower-alpha 1] — —
As Kuala Lumpur City
2021
Details		 Super League 6th of 12 Winners Not held — —
2022
Details		 Super League 6th of 12 Quarter-finals Second round Runners-up AFC – Runners-up
2023
Details		 Super League 7th of 14 Semi-finals Runners-up — —
  1. ↑ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Note: A single round-robin league system was instituted in 1979 following the entry of Brunei FA, Kuala Lumpur FA, Sabah FA and Sarawak FA into mainstream Malaysian football. For three years until 1981, the league remained no more than a preliminary round for the knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. In 1982, a League Cup was introduced to differentiate the league winners from the Malaysia Cup champions.

Continental record

All results list Kuala Lumpur's goal tally first.

Season Competition Round Club 1st leg 2nd leg Aggregate
1987 Asian Club Championship Qualifying round
(Group 6)		 Singapore Tiong Bahru 0–0 1st out of 4
Brunei Kota Ranger 8–1
Indonesia Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian 2–0
Semi-finals
(Group B)		 China August 1 1–1 2nd out of 4
Japan Yomiuri FC 1–0
Kuwait Kazma SC 1–1
1989–90 Asian Club Championship Qualifying round
(Group 5)		 Philippines Philippine Air Force 6–0 1st out of 5
Brunei Muara Stars 7–1
Indonesia Pelita Jaya 2–1
Singapore Geylang International 4–2
Semi-finals
(Group A)		 Japan Nissan Yokohama 1–2 2nd out of 3
Oman Fanja 2–0
1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup First round Brunei ABDB 5–1 2–0 7–1
Second round Indonesia Gelora Dewata 2–1 0–2 w/o[lower-alpha 1]
Quarter-finals Thailand Telephone Org. Thailand 1–2 2–3 (a.e.t.) 3–5
2022 AFC Cup Group H Indonesia PSM Makassar 0–0 2nd out of 3
Singapore Tampines Rovers 2–1
ASEAN Zonal semi-finals Vietnam Viettel 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(6–5 p)
ASEAN Zonal final Indonesia PSM Makassar 5–2
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals India ATK Mohun Bagan 3–1
Inter-zone play-off final Uzbekistan Sogdiana Jizzakh 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(5–3 p)
Final Oman Al-Seeb 0–3
  1. ↑ Gelora Dewata was disqualified due to fielding two ineligible players.

References

  1. ↑ "The City Boys have issues with match officials". New Straits Times. 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "City Boys buy Perak duo". New Straits Times. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Kuala Lumpur United". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Rinani Acquires KL City FC". acnnewswire.com. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Malaysia – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "Malaysia – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "All Malaysian league clubs complete initial privatisation process, seven receive conditional license". goal.com. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  8. ↑ Azharie, Farah (29 January 2021). "Legal wrangle over FA or FC". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Kuala Lumpur United appoint ex-player Stanley Bernard as club CEO". goal.com. 13 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Fans in a flap over KL's name change". New Straits Times. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "After 32 years – KL are Malaysia Cup champions again". Free Malaysia Today. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Team Detail – Kuala Lumpur City FC – Liga Super Malaysia 2023". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nidzam Adzha dilantik pengarah teknikal Kuala Lumpur City". Astro Awani. 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "KLUFC juara sulung Piala Prihatin Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan". Astro Awani (in Malay). 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "KL City rampas Piala Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan". Astro Awani (in Malay). 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "Honours List KLCFC". Kuala Lumpur City F.C. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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