Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League
Malaysian football league
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The Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League (Malay: Liga A1 Semi-Pro Malaysia, previously known as the Malaysia M3 League and the MBSB Bank Championship due to sponsorship reasons) is the second level football league of the Malaysian football league system.[1] It was created as the Malaysian Football League's reform of the domestic structure and replacement of the Malaysia FAM League.[2]
| |
| Organising body | Malaysian Football League (MFL) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 13 January 2019 |
| Country | Malaysia South Korea |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Malaysia Premier League (2019–2022) Malaysia Super League (2023–present) |
| Relegation to | Malaysia A2 Amateur League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup MFL Challenge Cup |
| Current champions | Johor Darul Ta'zim II (1st title) (2025–26) |
| Most championships | Kelantan United PIB Shah Alam Immigration Melaka Johor Darul Ta'zim II (1 title each) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Astro Arena FIFA+ |
| Website | https://the-afl.my/ |
| Current: 2026–27 Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League | |
History
In 2018, the Malaysia M3 League was supposed to form the fourth division of the Malaysian football. However, the Football Association of Malaysia announced it as a replacement for the Malaysia FAM League to form the third division.[3][4][5][6] After rebranding of the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) to the Malaysian Football League (MFL), the company announced a reform of the lower league competitions.[7][8] In 2019, a new subsidiary known as the Amateur Football League (AFL), was formed.[9] The AFL officially confirmed the formation of the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth divisions.[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 clubs.[12] At the end of the season, the top club 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 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]
Logo used from 2019 to 2022
Logo used until the end of the 2024–25 season
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Number of clubs throughout the years
| Period (in years) | No. of clubs |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 14 |
| 2020–2022 | 20 |
| 2023 | 14 |
| 2024–2025 | 15 |
| 2025–2026 | 16 |
| 2026–present | 14 |
Clubs (2026–27)
Note: This list is provisional and could be subject to changes via official sources.
| # | Club | Previous season | First season | Number of seasons | Titles | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  AAK-UNISEL |
A2 League, semi-finalist | 2026–27 | 1 | 0 | – |
| 2 |  Armed Forces |
8th | 2019 | 7 | 0 | – |
| 3 |  Bunga Raya |
12th | 2024–25 | 3 | 0 | – |
| 4 |  Immigration II |
10th | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 5 |  Johor Darul Ta'zim II |
1st, Champions | 2025–26 | 2 | 1 | 2025–26 |
| 6 |  Kedah FA |
3rd | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 7 |  Kelantan City |
7th | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 8 |  Malaysian University |
11th | 2022 | 5 | 0 | – |
| 9 |  Manjung City |
9th | 2019 | 7 | 0 | – |
| 10 | Negeri Sembilan II |
Transfer from Piala Presiden | 2026–27 | 1 | 0 | – |
| 11 | Perak FA |
5th | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 12 | Selangor II |
2nd, Runners-up | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 13 |  UM-Damansara United |
6th | 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | – |
| 14 |  USM |
A2 League, runners-up | 2026–27 | 1 | 0 | – |
Former clubs
Below are the records of clubs that have played in the A1 League since it was established in 2019. Clubs in bold are in the Malaysia Super League as of the 2026–27; clubs in italic no longer exist.
| Club | Joined | Final season | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRM |
2022 | 2023 | 3rd (2022) |
| Bukit Tambun |
2022 | 2024–25 | 4th (2023) |
| Gombak |
2024–25 | 2024–25 | 7th (2024–25) |
| Harini |
2019 | 2024–25 | 3rd (2023) |
| IKRAM Muda |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
| Immigration |
2020 | 2024–25 | Champions (2023) |
| Johor Bahru |
2019 | 2019 | 11th (2019) |
| Kelantan Red Warrior |
2025–26 | 2025–26 | 4th(2025–26) |
| Kelantan United |
2016 (FAM League) | 2019 | Champions (2019) |
| Kijang Rangers |
2022 | 2022 | 10th (2022) |
 Kinabalu Jaguar |
2022 | 2022 | Quarter-final (2022) |
| Klasiko |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
 Kuala Terengganu Rovers |
2019 | 2020 | 7th (2019) |
| Kuala Lumpur Rovers |
2020 | 2024–25 | Runners-up (2022, 2023) |
 Kuching |
2017 (FAM League) | 2019 | Runners-up (2019) |
| Langkawi |
2022 | 2022 | 10th (2022) |
| Langkawi City |
2019 | 2022 | 8th (2022) |
| Machan |
2024–25 | 2025–26 | 14th (2024–25) |
 Melaka |
2023 | 2024–25 | Champions (2024–25) |
| Melaka City |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
| Melawati |
2019 | 2020 | 8th (2019) |
| Naga UKS |
2019 | 2023 | 5th (2019) |
 NLFC-MAHSA |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
 Penjara |
2019 | 2019 | 13th of 14 (2019) |
| Perlis GSA |
2025–26 | 2025–26 | 14th (2025–26) |
| Perlis United |
2020 | 2023 | 8th (2023) |
| PIB Shah Alam |
2020 | 2024–25 | Champions (2022) |
| PT Athletic |
2024–25 | 2024–25 | 6th (2024–25) |
| Protap |
2019 | 2020 | 14 (2019) |
| Real Chukai |
2022 | 2022 | 9th (2022) |
| Respect |
2022 | 2022 | 7th (2022) |
| SAINS |
2020 | 2023 | 5th (2023) |
| SAMB |
2019 | 2019 | 9th(2019) |
| Sarawak |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
| Sarawak United |
2023 | 2023 | 12th (2023) |
 Seoul Phoenix |
2025–26 | 2025–26 | 13th (2025–26) |
| Semarak |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
| Thai Selangor |
2020 | 2020 | Season abandoned |
| Tok Janggut Warriors |
2022 | 2022 | 8th (2022) |
| Tun Razak City |
2019 | 2022 | 9th (2022) |
| UiTM United |
2024–25 | 2024–25 | 13th (2024–25) |
 YPM |
2024–25 | 2024–25 | 10th (2024–25) |
Champions, runners-up, third places
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kelantan United |
Kuching |
Armed Forces |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Not held | ||
| 2022 | PIB Shah Alam |
Kuala Lumpur Rovers |
Immigration BRM FC |
| 2023 | Immigration |
Kuala Lumpur Rovers |
Harini |
| 2024–25 | Melaka |
Immigration |
Kuala Lumpur Rovers |
| 2025–26 | Johor Darul Ta'zim II |
Selangor II |
Kedah FA |
Performance by club
| No. | Club | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Immigration |
1 (2023) | 1 (2024–25) |
| 2 | Kelantan United |
1 (2019) | N/a |
| 3 | PIB Shah Alam |
1 (2022) | N/a |
| 4 | Melaka |
1 (2024–25) | N/a |
| 5 | Johor Darul Ta'zim II |
1 (2025–26) | N/a |
| 6 | Kuala Lumpur Rovers |
N/a | 2 (2022, 2023) |
| 7 | Kuching |
N/a | 1 (2019) |
| 8 | Selangor II |
N/a | 1 (2025–26) |
Awards, Records and achievements
Prize money
The 2025–26 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows.
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 United | 28 |
| 2022 | Firdaus Azizul |
Immigration | 22 |
| 2023 | Azim Rahim |
Immigration | 24 |
| 2024–25 | Azim Rahim |
Melaka | 22 |
| 2025–26 |  Emmanuel Mbarga |
Kelantan Red Warrior | 32 |
Foreign players
- 2019: 2 foreign players
- 2020: 4 foreign players, including 2 U20
- 2021–2023: foreign players banned
- 2024–25: 2 U21 foreign players
- 2025–: 3 foreign players