2021 Malaysia Premier League
The 2021 Malaysia Premier League is the 18th season of the Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2004.
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 March – 24 September 2021 |
| Champions | Negeri Sembilan 2nd Second Division title |
| Promoted | Negeri Sembilan Sarawak United |
| Relegated | Perak II |
| Matches played | 109 |
| Goals scored | 288 (2.64 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jordan Mintah Fernando Rodríguez (16 goals) |
| Biggest home win | 7 goals Sarawak United 7–1 FAM-MSN Project (10 April 2021) |
| Biggest away win | 6 goals FAM-MSN Project 1–6 Terengganu II (7 May 2021) |
| Highest scoring | 8 goals Sarawak United 7–1 FAM-MSN Project (10 April 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches Terengganu II |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 matches Terengganu II |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches FAM-MSN Project |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches FAM-MSN Project |
← 2020 2022 → | |
First and second place non-feeder team will be promoted to the 2022 Malaysia Super League. The top 5 non-feeder teams will qualify for the 2021 Malaysia Cup.
Team changes
A total of 11 teams contested the league, including 9 sides from the 2020 season, 1 relegated from the 2020 Malaysia Super League, and 1 team formed by FAM and National Sports Council Malaysia (NSC).
To Premier League
Promoted from Liga M3
- No teams.1
Relegated from Super League
- Felda United(disqualified)2
- PDRM
New Team
- FAM-MSN Project3
From Premier League
Promoted to Super League
Relegated to Liga M3
- No teams.4
Expulsion
Notes:
- ^1 No teams from M3 League were promoted due to the 2020 M3 League season cancellation.
- ^2 Felda United's application for privatization was not approved by Football Association of Malaysia and therefore the team not qualified to participating in the league.[1]
- ^3 FAM-MSN Project were a development team form by FAM and National Sports Council Malaysia (NSC) as alternative career pathway for the NFDP graduates. They took the spot left by Felda United.
- ^4 No teams from Premier League were relegated due to the FAM decision to keep the league teams at 10 following Felda and UKM expulsion.
- ^5 UKM FC registration was not approved by FAM as they failed to provide concrete proof of financial backing for the new season.[1]
Stadium and locations
FAM-MSN Project
Locations of teams in the 2021 Malaysia Premier League teams
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAM-MSN Project | Shah Alam | UiTM Stadium | 10,000 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II | Larkin | Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium | 30,000 |
| Kelantan | Kota Bharu | Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium | 22,000 |
| Kelantan United | Kota Bharu | Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium | 22,000 |
| Kuching City | Kota Kinabalu | Likas Stadium | 35,000 |
| Negeri Sembilan | Seremban | Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium | 45,000 |
| PDRM | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur Stadium | 18,000 |
| Perak II | Ipoh | Perak Stadium | 27,036 |
| Sarawak United | Krubong | Hang Jebat Stadium | 40,000 |
| Selangor II | Selayang | Selayang Stadium | 16,000 |
| Terengganu II | Kuala Terengganu | Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium | 15,000 |
Personnel and sponsoring
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAM-MSN Project |  Yusri Che Lah |
Amirul Akmal Safarinizam |
Kelme | |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II |  Rafa Gil |
Fadhli Shas |
Nike | UNICEF |
| Kelantan |  Marco Ragini |
Che Safwan Hazman |
93 Sports | Zamburger |
| Kelantan United |  Akira Higashiyama |
Badhri Radzi |
Umbro | Yakult |
| Kuching City | Irfan Bakti |
Joseph Kalang Tie |
StarSport | Serba Dinamik |
| Negeri Sembilan | K. Devan |
Zaquan Adha |
Kaki Jersi | Visit Negeri Sembilan, Matrix |
| PDRM | Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail |
Safiee Ahmad |
Oren Sport | Top Glove |
| Perak II | Syamsul Saad |
Izaaq Izhan Yuswardi |
Kaki Jersi | Lenggong Valley (home) & Royal Belum (away) |
| Sarawak United | E. Elavarasan |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Taylor Regan |
Joma | Punggor Wibawa |
| Selangor II |  Michael Feichtenbeiner |
Shivan Pillay |
Joma | PKNS |
| Terengganu II | Badrul Afzan |
 Argzim Redžović |
Al-Ikhsan | redONE |
Coaching changes
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuching City | Akira Higashiyama |
End of Contract | 30 November 2020 | Pre-season | Irfan Bakti Abu Salim |
1 December 2020 |
| Negeri Sembilan | Sazali Saidon |
K. Devan | ||||
| Selangor II | Rusdi Suparman |
End of Caretaker Spell | Michael Feichtenbeiner | |||
| Kelantan United | Nazrulerwan Makmor |
Redesignated to Technical Director | Akira Higashiyama |
5 December 2020 | ||
| FAM-MSN Project | Inaugural head coach | Yusri Che Lah |
10 December 2020 | |||
| PDRM | Ishak Kunju |
End of Contract | 30 November 2020 | Mat Zan Mat Aris |
24 December 2020 | |
| Terengganu II | Roshadi Wahab |
Badrul Afzan Razali | ||||
| Perak II | Abu Bakar Fadzim |
Syamsul Saad |
2 January 2021 | |||
| Kelantan | Yusri Che Lah |
Marco Ragini |
15 January 2021 | |||
| PDRM | Mat Zan Mat Aris |
Sacked | 31 March 2021 | Mid Season | Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail |
31 March 2021 |
Foreign players
Players name in bold indicates the player was registered after the start of the season.
The number of foreign players is restricted to four each team including at least one player from the AFC country.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | Former Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II |  Luis Cabrerra |
Kei Hirose |
Fernando Rodríguez |
Shane Lowry |
Nicolás Fernández |
| Kelantan |  Christos Intzidis |
Mario Arqués |
 Jack Hindle |
 Natanael Siringo Ringo |
|
| Kelantan United | Shuhei Fukai |
Masashi Motoyama |
 Gassama Alfusainey |
Yuki Tanigawa |
|
| Kuching City |  Aylton Alemão |
Hudson Dias |
 Ijezie Michael |
Yuta Suzuki |
Bryan Jones |
| Negeri Sembilan | Arthur Cunha |
 Francis Koné |
 Alain Akono |
 Bae Beom-geun |
Diogo Campos Fernando Barbosa Rafael Gomes de Oliveira |
| PDRM |  Victor Kamhuka |
 Alexander Amponsah |
 Lazarus Kaimbi |
Bruno Suzuki |
|
| Perak II |  Ghislain Guessan |
Charlie Machell |
  Samir Ayass |
||
| Sarawak United | Sandro |
Uche Agba |
Taylor Regan |
Lee Chang-hoon |
|
| Selangor II | Jordan Ayimbila |
George Attram |
Alex Agyarkwa |
 Hein Htet Aung |
|
| Terengganu II | Argzim Redžović |
 Dechi Marcel N'Guessan |
Jordan Mintah |
Masaki Watanabe |
|
Naturalisation players
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II | Stuart Wilkin |
 Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan |
|
| Sarawak United |  Stuart Wark |
 Khair Jones |
|
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Negeri Sembilan (C, P) | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 41 | Promotion to Super League and Qualification for the Malaysia Cup group stage |
| 2 | Sarawak United (P) | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 14 | +23 | 38 | |
| 3 | Terengganu II[lower-alpha 1] | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 18 | +19 | 35 | |
| 4 | Johor Darul Ta'zim II[lower-alpha 1] | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 34 | |
| 5 | Kuching City | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 27 | Qualification for the Malaysia Cup group stage |
| 6 | Kelantan | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 27 | |
| 7 | Kelantan United | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 26 | |
| 8 | PDRM | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 26 | |
| 9 | Selangor II[lower-alpha 1] | 20 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 24 | |
| 10 | Perak II[lower-alpha 1] (R) | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 37 | −23 | 17 | |
| 11 | FAM-MSN Project[lower-alpha 2] | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 56 | −44 | 6 |
Source: MFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II cannot be promoted from Malaysia Premier League and play in Malaysia Cup as Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. , Perak FA, Selangor F.C. and Terengganu FC (their parent clubs) remain in Malaysia Super League and play in Malaysia Cup. Should the team be relegated to Malaysia Premier League or will not play in Malaysia Cup, Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II will have to drop to Malaysia M3 League or will play in Malaysia Cup.
- FAM-MSN Project is only as a back-up squad and will not promote to Super League.
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches.
In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
| Leader |
Source: MFL
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
- As of 24 September 2021[2]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Mintah |
Terengganu II | 16 |
| Fernando Rodríguez |
Johor Darul Ta'zim II | ||
| 3 | Uche Agba |
Sarawak United | 14 |
| 4 | Gassama Alfusainey |
Kelantan United | 11 |
| 6 | Alain Akono |
Negeri Sembilan | 9 |
| George Attram |
Selangor II | ||
| Nurshamil Abd Ghani |
Kelantan | ||
| 8 | Azhad Harraz |
FAM-MSN Project | 8 |
| 9 | Bruno Suzuki |
PDRM | 7 |
| Zaquan Adha |
Negeri Sembilan | ||
| 11 | Alif Hassan |
Kuching City | 5 |
| Francis Koné |
Negeri Sembilan | ||
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Attram |
Selangor II | FAM-MSN Project | 4–2 (H) | 12 March 2021 |
| Uche Agba |
Sarawak United | FAM-MSN Project | 7–1 (H) | 10 April 2021 |
| Jordan Mintah |
Terengganu II | Kelantan United | 4–1 (H) | 2 May 2021 |
| FAM-MSN Project | 6–1 (A) | 7 May 2021 | ||
Clean sheets
- As of matches played 12 September 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarawak United | 8 | |
See also
- 2021 Malaysia Super League
- 2021 Malaysia M3 League
- 2021 Malaysia M4 League
- 2021 Malaysia FA Cup
- 2021 Malaysia Cup
- 2021 Malaysia Challenge Cup
- 2021 Piala Presiden
- 2021 Piala Belia
References
- Ooi Kin Fai (31 October 2020). "FAM throws Felda and UKM out of the 2021 Premier League season". GOAL. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- "Penjaring gol Liga Premier 2021". Liga Malaysia. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
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