Kelantan The Real Warriors F.C.
Malaysian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Kelantan The Real Warriors) is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.[3][4][5] The club plays in the Malaysia Super League, the top-flight football league of Malaysia, after being promoted from the Malaysia Premier League in 2022.[6] The club was founded in 2016 as MPKB-BRI UbeS Football Club (Kota Bharu Municipal Council – Islamic City Youth and Sports Secretariat), before being reformed as Kelantan United in 2017, Kelantan Darul Naim and Kelantan The Real Warriors in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Their home stadium is Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium which has a capacity of 30,000.
2017, as Kelantan United Football Club
2024, as Kelantan Darul Naim Football Club
2025, as Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club
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| Full name | Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club | |||
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| Nickname | The Real Warriors[1] | |||
| Short name | KTRW | |||
| Founded | 2016, as MPKB-BRI UBeS Football Club 2017, as Kelantan United Football Club 2024, as Kelantan Darul Naim Football Club 2025, as Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club | |||
| Ground | Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 30,000[2] | |||
| President | Annuar Musa | |||
| CEO | Irwan Rizal | |||
| Head coach | Vacant | |||
| League | Malaysia Super League | |||
| 2024–25 | Malaysia Super League, 13th of 13 | |||
| Website | therealwarriors | |||
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History
Formation and early years
The club was previously known as Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu-Bandar Raya Islam Urusetia Belia and Sukan Negeri Kelantan Football Club (MPKB-BRI UBeS FC). They entered the Malaysian football competition in 2016 when the club was accepted to compete in the FAM League.[7] The club finished the season at the eight place.
Kelantan United
For the 2017 season, they participated in the Malaysia FA Cup.[8][9][10] The club was later rebranded to Kelantan United Football Club as an effort to bring in support in the local area. In 2023, the club was promoted to the Malaysia Super League for the first time in their history. On 2 June 2023, Kelantan United recorded their first win in the top flight against city rivals Kelantan, with the score of 4–1.
Kelantan Darul Naim
In the 2024–25 Malaysia Super League season, Kelantan United was rebranded as Kelantan Darul Naim Football Club. The club's president Rozi Muhammad said the rebranding comes from the management's desire to unite Kelantan supporters under one banner.[11] In November 2024, the club travelled to India and took part in the 2024 edition of the Sikkim Gold Cup.[12][13]
The Real Warriors
In 2025, they were rebranded again, this time as Kelantan The Real Warriors Football Club.[14] On 7 May 2025, Irwan Rizal has been appointed as the club's chief executive officer.[15] On 15 July 2025, the club appointed Annuar Musa as the club's president.[16] On 1 July 2025, the club appointed E. Elavarasan as the new head coach along with Muamer Salibašić as the assistant head coach.
Stadium and location
| Coordinates | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°7′26″N 102°14′36″E | Kota Bharu | Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium | 30,000 | 2016–present |
Crest and colours
Crest
The club has used one primary crest since its participation in the national level football league competition before the club introduce a new crest starting in 2017 season to solidify its new branding.[17][18]
2016
2017–2018
2019–2022
2023
2024–2025
2025−present
Colours
Kelantan has mostly worn black with mixture of red as their home kit.[19] For 2017 season, the club play in red with a trim of white for home kit.[18] Kelantan's away colours are usually white with green trim.[18]
Kit and sponsorship
Since the 2024–25 season, the main equipment supplier has been PUC Sport.[20]
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Season-by-season record
| Season | League | FA Cup | Malaysia Cup |
Top goalscorer | ||||||||||
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| Tier | League | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | |||
| 2016 | 3 | FAM | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 10 | 8th Group B | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| 2017 | FAM | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 5th, group A | R2 | N/a | Raim Azmi | 4 | |
| 2018 | FAM | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 7th, group A | N/a | N/a | Masri Asyraf | 5 | |
| 2019 | M3 | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 93 | 20 | 66 | 1st | R3 | N/a | Fakhrul Zaman | 35 | |
| 2020 | 2 | MPL | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 8th | N/a | N/a | Gassama Alfussainey | 6 |
| 2021 | MPL | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 7th | N/a | GS | Gassama Alfussainey | 12 | |
| 2022 | MPL | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 5th | R16 | R2 | Jacob Njoku | 10 | |
| 2023 | 1 | MSL | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 29 | 65 | 17 | 12th | R16 | R16 | OJ Porteria | 7 |
| 2024–25 | MSL | 24 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 16 | 82 | 17 | 13th | R16 | R16 | Oday Kharoub | 4 | |
| 2025–26 | MSL | To be determined | ||||||||||||
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
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Players
- As of 31 August 2025[22]
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
Coaching staff
- As of 31 August 2025
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Akmal Rizal |
| Assistant coach |  Muamer Salibašić |
| Goalkeeping coach | Khairul Nizan Mohd Taib |
| Fitness coach | Kamarul Dinis Kamarudin |
| Doctors | Nabil Aiman Noor Adnan Ahmad Baihaqi Abd Rahman Muhammad Hafiz Kamaruzaman Ahmad Waqiuddin Rajab |
| Physiotherapist | Muhammad Amir Fadzlan |
| Kitmen | Shamsudin Deraman Zairul Fitree Ishak Shahrul Ridzuan Samsuddin |
Club personnel
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Annuar Musa |
| Chief executive officer | Irwan Rizal |
| Director | Rozi Muhamad |
Coaches
| Name | Nationality | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahadi Yusoff | Malaysia | 2015 | 2016 |
| Abdullah Muhammad | Malaysia | 2016 | 2016 |
| Azli Mahmood | Malaysia | 2016 | 2016 |
| Kamaruddin Muhammad | Malaysia | 2017 | 2017 |
| Abdullah Muhammad | Malaysia | 2018 | 2018 |
| Zahasmi Ismail | Malaysia | 2019 | 17 September 2020 |
| Akira Higashiyama |  Japan | 1 January 2021 | 30 June 2021 |
| Nazrulerwan Makmor | Malaysia | 19 July 2021 | 9 January 2022 |
| Syamsul Saad | Malaysia | 10 January 2022 | 8 August 2022 |
| Tomáš Trucha |  Czech Republic | 30 December 2022 | 8 April 2023 |
| Ailton Silva |  Brazil | 15 June 2023 | 21 November 2023 |
| Park Jae-hong |  South Korea | 19 April 2024 | 24 January 2025 |
| E. Elavarasan | Malaysia | 1 July 2025 | 3 October 2025 |
| Akmal Rizal | Malaysia | 16 October 2025 | 11 March 2026 |
Former captains
| Tenure | Captain | Vice-captain |
|---|---|---|
| 2025– |  Ifedayo Olusegun |
Azam Azih |
Club presidents
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Che Abdullah Mat Nawi | –31 December 2022 |
| Rozi Muhamad | 31 December 2022[23]–15 July 2025 |
| Annuar Musa | 15 July 2025[24]–present |
Honours
Domestic competitions
League
- Division 3/M3 League
- Champions (1): 2019
International competitions
- All India Governor's Gold Cup
- Quarter-final: 2024
Affiliated clubs
Bunyodkor (2025–present)
- Kelantan The Real Warriors signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bunyodkor of the Uzbekistan Super League in September 2025. This strategic collaboration covers technical aspects, friendly matches, player loans and academy development.