The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It has been affiliated with FIFA since 1954. The FAM oversees the organisation and development of football and advancing the game at all levels in Malaysia, and is responsible for all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory. This includes the men's, women's and youth national football teams as well as the Malaysian Amateur Football League and Malaysia Premier Futsal League.
History
Pre-independence football
The British introduced football to Malaya, and the locals quickly embraced the game, making it the country's leading sport. By the late 19th century, football had become a central activity in most sports clubs across Malaya, though it lacked proper structure. The establishment of the Selangor Amateur Football League in 1905 brought some administration and organization, but the competition remained limited to clubs in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1921, the battleship HMS Malaya visited the country. After competing in football and rugby matches with local teams, the officers and crew decided to commemorate the games by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both sports. This led to the establishment of a national football tournament involving all states in Malaya. Known initially as the Malaya Cup—later renamed the Malaysia Cup in 1963—the competition has been held continuously, except during the war years. The SAFL was responsible for the administration of league competitions in Selangor. As soon league football gained firm in Selangor, the Selangor Football Association established a new tournament known as SFA Cup in 1926. This association began organizing tournaments, which inspired other states in Malaya to follow suit. Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak demonstrated a parallel institutional development in football governance, as Malacca established its football association in 1924, followed by Negeri Sembilan and Perak in 1926.
In 1932, the MFA was reorganized into the Football Association of Malaya (FAM). The committee decided to choose Kuala Lumpur as the headquarters due to its strategic geographical location. and the FAM took on responsibility for running the Malaya Cup competition.
The stadium also marked the beginning of the Merdeka Tournament (Pestabola Merdeka), which was popularly referred to as the 'Mini Asia Cup' from the 1960s to the 1980s. The tournament was a significant success and inspired similar events such as the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament in Indonesia, the King's Cup in Thailand, and the President's Cup in South Korea. The inaugural tournament—then the premier football competition in Asia—was won by Hong Kong. In 2019, FAM was also awarded the AFC Dream Asia Award (Bronze) in the Inspiring Category.
On 26 September 2025, FAM and seven Malaysian heritage players–Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel–were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. FAM was fined CHF 350,000 (around RM 1.9million) whereas each player was fined CHF 2,000 (around MR 10,560) and were suspended from all football related activities for 12 months. FAM has confirmed it will file an appeal against FIFA's sanctions. On 3 November 2025, the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected FAM's appeal and the sanctions remains as it is. In light of the footballers naturalization falsification scandal, on 28 January 2026, all FAM exco members resign en masse.
Associations affiliation
There are 20 Football Associations affiliated to the FAM. Besides the 14 FAs with regional location, six others are affiliated units.
State affiliation
{|class=wikitable
|-
! State !! Football Association !! Established
|-
| || Johor Football Association (JFA) || 1955
|-
| || Kedah Football Association (KFA) || 1924
|-
| || Football Association of Kelantan (KAFA) || 1948
|-
| || Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) || 1975
|-
| || Melaka Football Association (MAFA) || 1924
|-
| || Negeri Sembilan Football Association (NSFA) || 1923
|-
| || Football Association of Pahang (PBNP) || 1959
|-
| || Football Association Penang (FAP) || 1921
|-
| || Perak Football Association (PAFA) || 1921
|-
| || Football Association of Perlis (PFA) || 1963
|-
| || Sabah Football Association (SAFA) || 1950
|-
| || Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) || 1974
|-
| || Football Association of Selangor (FAS) || 1936
|-
| || Football Association of Terengganu (TFA) || 1956
|}
Ethnic affiliation
{|class=wikitable
|-
! Ethnic !! Football Association
|-
| Malaysian Malays || Malaysian Malay's Football Association (PBMM)
|-
| Malaysian Chinese || Malaysian Chinese Football Association (MCFA)
|-
| Malaysian Indians || Malaysian Indian Sports Council (MISC)
|}
Uniformed service affiliation
{|class=wikitable
|-
! Uniformed service !! Football Association
|-
| Royal Malaysian Police || Royal Malaysian Police Football Association (RMPFA)
|-
| Malaysian Armed Forces || Malaysian Armed Forces Football Association (AFFA)
|}
Professional affiliation
{|class=wikitable
|-
! Profession !! Association
|-
| Football Coach || Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM)
|}
Collaboration Projects
Competitions
The Football Association of Malaysia had run all top football competitions in Malaysia until 2015, when the Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP), which is now known as the Malaysian Football League (MFL) was formed as part of the privatisation of the Malaysian football league system. The MFL took over all the top professional football competition previously managed by the FAM. The list below are the competitions which are managed by the Malaysia Football League since it inception in 2015:
- Liga Super
- Liga Premier (until 2022)
- Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League
- Malaysia A2 Amateur League
- Malaysia A3 Community League
- Piala FA
- Piala Malaysia
- MFL Challenge Cup
- Piala Sumbangsih (Super Cup)
- MFL Cup (U23)
FAM also focuses on youth development football, women football and futsal leagues and tournaments in Malaysia.
- Malaysia National Women's League
- Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah
- Piala Presiden (U21)
- Piala Belia (U19)
- Liga Puteri-FAM (U16)
- MPFL Division 1
- MPFL Division 2
- Malaysia Premier Futsal League (Women)
- Malaysia Futsal Cup
- Malaysia Futsal Cup (Women)
Awards
Principals
{| class="wikitable"
|+Office-holders
|-
| S Sivasundaram
|Vice President
|
|-
| Noor Azman Hj Rahman
|General Secretary
|
See also
- Malaysia national under-23 football team
- Malaysia national under-22 football team
- Malaysia national under-19 football team
- Malaysia national under-16 football team
- National Football Development Programme of Malaysia
- Malaysian football league system
- List of Malaysia football champions
- List of football clubs in Malaysia
- Malaysia national football team honours
- Malaysia national beach soccer team