Malaysia M3 League
Malaysia M3 League (Malay: Liga M3) is the third level of the football league competition in Malaysia. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Malaysia Premier League and Malaysia M4 League.[1] The league was created in 2018 as part of Malaysian Football League plan to reformed Malaysian football league structure. It was a replacement of the former FAM League.
 | |
| Organising body | Malaysian Football League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 13 January 2019 |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 20 (from 2020) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Malaysia Premier League |
| Relegation to | Malaysia M4 League |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup FAM Cup |
| Current champions | Kelantan United (1st title) (2019) |
| Most championships | Kelantan United (1st title) |
| TV partners | Vnow.TV |
| Website | cms |
| Current: 2021 Malaysia M3 League | |
M3 League is contested by 20 clubs. Seasons run from March to November. The season starts in early March and lasts until late November, with a Ramadan break for a month. Teams play 26 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away), totalling 306 matches in the season.[2] Most games are played on Fridays, with a few games played during weekdays.
The league operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Malaysia Premier League for promotion and Malaysia M4 League for relegation.
History
In 2018, Malaysia M3 League was supposed to form the fourth division of Malaysian football league, however after Football association of Malaysia confirmed a reformed of Liga FAM as knock-out competition, the league was announce as a replacement to form the third division of Malaysian League.[3][4][5][6]
After a re-branding of Malaysian Football League (MFL) in March 2018, the company has announced a reform lower league competition in Malaysia.[7][8] In 2019, a new subsidiary of the company was formed as Amateur Football League (AFL) which will be tasked to manage the third division and below.[9] The AFL has officially confirmed the formation of Malaysia M3 League and Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth division of Malaysian League as an amateur league competition.[10]
A total 14 clubs has been confirmed to compete for the inaugural season of newly reformed third division, Malaysia M3 League which replaced the former Liga FAM.[11] 14 groups of competition throughout Malaysia will run in parallel and formed the Malaysia M4 League. The a qualified champion from 5 FA State League and 9 Social League teams are from the inaugural 2018 season was promoted to Malaysia M3 League.
For 2020 season, Malaysia M3 League was divided into two groups of 10 teams.[12] At the end of the season, the top team from each group of the league was promoted to the Malaysia Premier League.[13]
For 2021 season, the AFL has announced the format changes for the M3 and M4 League in preparation for the transition of the amateur team to semi-professional by 2021.
Clubs
14 clubs have played in the Malaysia M3 League from its inception in 2019
Champions, Runner-up and Third place
| Year | Champion | Runners-up | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Kelantan United |
 Kuching |
 Armed Forces | |
| 2020 | cancelled and declared null and void due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
Wins by the clubs
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Kelantan United |
1 | 2019 |
Season
The following 14 clubs contest the league in its current season, including the 3 clubs from the 2018 Malaysia FAM League. 10 clubs are promoted from the 2018 Malaysia M4 League (previously known as Malaysia M5 League). 4 clubs withdrawn from the competition and 1 club invited by the organizer to participate the competition which is Tun Razak City F.C
| Club | Previous league in 2018 |
Position in 2018 season |
First season in tier-3 division |
First season in M3 League |
Seasons in tier-3 division |
Seasons in M3 League |
First season of current spell in M3 League |
Title wins | Last title wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed Forces | Malaysia FAM League | 3rd | 2018 | 2019 | 1 | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Banggol Tok Ku | Terengganu Amateur League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Batu Dua | South Selangor League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Dak-dak Melawati | Selangor Social Premier League | 1st | - | 2019 | - | 2 | 2019 | 0 | - |
| Langkawi Glory United | 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 | 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 | - |
| Puchong Fuerza | 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 | - |
Remark : Tier-3 division means third tier football competition in Malaysia which is Malaysian FAM League (2008–2018)
Other clubs
The following clubs are not competing in the Malaysia M3 League during the 2019 season, but competed in the tier-3 division or Malaysia M3 League for at least one season.
| Club | Current League | Position in 2018 season |
First season in tier-3 division |
First season in M3 League |
Seasons in tier-3 division |
Seasons in M3 League |
Most recent season in M3 League |
Title wins | Last title wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | - | ||||||||
| Selangor United | Malaysia Premier 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 | Malaysia Premier League | 8th in Premier League |
Remark : Tier-3 division means third tier football competition in Malaysia which is Malaysian FAM League (2008–2018)
Players
Foreign players
- 2019: 2 foreign players.
- 2020–: 4 foreign players,including 2 under 20 years old player.
Records and achievements
Golden Boot winners
Below is the list of golden boot winners of Liga M3 since its inception as third-tier league in 2019.
| Season | Players | Clubs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Fakhrul Zaman |
Kelantan United | 28 |
See also
References
- http://johorsoutherntigers.com.my/14-state-and-social-league-organisers-sign-agreement-to-join-m5-league/ Archived 22 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine 14 STATE AND SOCIAL LEAGUE ORGANISERS SIGN AGREEMENT TO JOIN M5 LEAGUE
- Eric Samuel (7 May 2015). "More domestic football on TV next season". The Star. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- https://www.goal.com/en-my/news/fam-cup-contested-knockout-competition-2019/1q80apv1fs59v1osij8joftlge FAM Cup to be contested as knockout competition in 2019
- https://www.nst.com.my/sports/football/2018/11/430876/fam-cup-faces-uncertainty-mfl-ready-step FAM Cup faces uncertainty, MFL ready to step in
- https://www.fam.org.my/piala-fam-2019 Piala FAM 2019
- http://www.astroawani.com/berita-sukan/fam-cadang-perkenal-format-baharu-liga-fam-191970 AM cadang perkenal format baharu Liga FAM
- https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/03/349279/tmj-thank-you-malaysian-football-and-goodbye TMJ: Thank you Malaysian football and goodbye
- https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/johor-crown-prince-resigns-as-fam-president-appointed-as-10076070 Johor crown prince resigns as FAM President, appointed as Malaysia Football League chairman
- https://www.goal.com/en-my/news/14-amateur-leagues-confirmed-as-part-of-inaugural-malaysian-tier-/l4242smju3ii1v6yggv24ruuv 14 amateur leagues confirmed as part of inaugural Malaysian tier five season
- https://www.foxsports.com.my/malaysia/46879/14-pasukan-sedia-bersaing-di-liga-m3-malaysia-2019/ 14 pasukan sedia bersaing di Liga M3 Malaysia 2019
- https://www.foxsports.com.my/liga-malaysia/38174/gambaran-struktur-piramid-bola-sepak-malaysia-2019/ Gambaran struktur piramid bola sepak Malaysia 2019
- "AFL umum penstrukturan semula Liga M3, 20 pasukan dalam saingan musim 2020". Vocket FC.
- "Pasukan bertanding ambil langkah positif penstrukturan Liga M3". Semuanya Bola.
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