The 2017 season was Kelantan's 9th season in the Liga Super since being promoted and 22nd successive season in the top flight of Malaysian football league system. They were competing in the Liga Super, Piala FA and Piala Malaysia after placed in 5th (7th after 3 points was deducted) in 2017 Liga Super first leg matches.
Season overview November On 30 November 2016, Zahasmi Ismail was appointed as the team new head coach, succeeding Velizar Popov in the role.
January On 6 January 2017, it's confirmed that Kelantan would be participated in the 2017 Liga Super.
On 12 January 2017, former president, Annuar Musa was appointed as club advisor by Kelantan Football Association.
On 20 January 2017, Kelantan unveiled their 2017 season squad with new three foreign players, and new local players. Mamadou Danso and Alessandro Celin replaced Okiki Afolabi after he failed the club medical test and Cédric Djeugoué got issues with his registration documents. Mohammed Ghaddar have filled the place Asian quota player. New local players signed with Kelantan were Hasmizan Kamarodin, S. Subramaniam, S. Thinagaran and Hattaphon Bun An.
On 21 January 2017, the first league match between Kelantan and Melaka United scheduled at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in Kota Bharu has been postponed to another date due to bad weather caused waterlogged pitch.
On 27 January 2017, Kelantan started their league campaign with victory over PKNS with 3–1 scored.
Position at the end of January
AFC Club Ranking position in January Rank Country Team Move MA Pts Total 93 Kelantan FA 2.476 10.809
February On 1 February 2017, league match against Johor Darul Ta'zim that was initially scheduled for 4 February 2017 will be postponed due to JDT's AFC Champions League commitments.
On 11 February 2017, Kelantan won 2–1 against FELDA United which was their second league match after having two games postponed before.
On 14 February 2017, during second round of Malaysia FA Cup campaign Kelantan were knocked out of the competition by Malaysia Premier League club PKNP 4–3 on penalty shoot-out after 1–1 draw after extra time.
On 21 February 2017, the rescheduled postponed rematch between Kelantan and Melaka United were held at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium with the home team lost 0–2 and continued their streak of two games loses without any goals scored.
On 25 February 2017, the sixth league match of Kelantan at home ground ended up losing 0–2 to Selangor which continued their streak of loses without scoring goal in three matches in a row.
Position at the end of February
AFC Club Ranking position in February Rank Country Team Move MA Pts Total 124 Kelantan FA 2.53 4.53
March On 1 March 2017, Kelantan secured the third league win over Perak in Perak Stadium. Mohammed Ghaddar scored a hat-trick and 1 goal came from Indra Putra Mahayuddin.
On 4 March 2017, Kelantan finally achieved their first win at their home ground after a straight three losses before and making it their second consecutive win in the league after beating T-Team 4–2 with Mohammed Ghaddar scored his second hat-trick and a goal came from Mohd Khairul Izuan Rosli.
On 7 March, Mohammed Ghaddar was announced as PFAM Player of the Month for February candidate.
Position at the end of March
AFC Club Ranking position in March Rank Country Team Move MA Pts Total 126 Kelantan FA 2.555 4.555
April The team having a long break after the last match on 4 March 2017. This is due in conjunction with the Piala FA Matches. Kelantan started April league campaign with a defeat 1—2 against Pahang during home match in Kota Bharu. On 12 April, another rescheduled match between Kelantan against the defending champion, Johor Darul Ta'zim was held that resulted in another loss for Kelantan after the away team made a comeback to overturn the 2-goal lead from Kelantan both scored by Mohammed Ghaddar resulted in a 2–3 defeat. On 15 April, Kelantan continued their unbeaten streak outside of Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium by winning 5–1 against Penang with 4 goals contributed by Mohammed Ghaddar making it his third hat trick this season. On 29 April, Mohammed Ghaddar was announced as PFAM Player of the Month for April candidate. On 30 April, Alfredo Carlos González Machado has been appointed as the new technical director of the team and Sanna Nyassi was introduced as a potential candidate to replace Alessandro Celin in the second transfer window.
Position at the end of April
AFC Club Ranking position in April Rank Country Team Move MA Pts Total 127 Kelantan FA 2.625 4.625
May On 1 May, Kelantan and Johor Darul Ta'zim were fined RM10,000 due to their fan action with Kelantan fan were reported to have thrown bottles onto the pitch during the postponed match between Kelantan against Johor Darul Ta'zim.
On 2 May, Kelantan were deducted 6 points after failing to complete M-League registration process thus resulted in league standing change from number 5 to number 7.
On 6 May, Kelantan won 2–3 against Pahang making them still undefeated at away ground.
On 9 May, Mohammed Ghaddar was announced as the April Liga Super Player of the Month.
Second transfer window started on 15 May and will ended on 11 June, during this time span, some transfer activity among Kelantan FA player happened. Among them is Mohammed Ghaddar who was sold to Johor Darul Ta'zim for RM1,400,000.00 and his replacement, Abou Bakr Al-Mel from AC Tripoli.Nik Shahrul Azim was loaned out to Negeri Sembilan for 6 month.
On 24 May, Kelantan drew 2–2 against Penang at their home ground before the league take a rest period for more than a month due to Ramadan and national team games.
Position at the end of May
AFC Club Ranking position in May Rank Country Team Move MA Pts Total 126 Kelantan FA 2.625 4.625
June
There were no competitive matches played during this month. Fakhrul Zaman and Muhd Shahrul Hakim Rahim were loaned out to MISC-MIFA.
On 17 June, there were some changes in the club officials with Alfredo Carlos Gonzales will be taking Datuk Rosmadi Ismail place as the Team Manager while Datuk Rosmadi Ismail and his assistant Datuk Muhammad Nasir Hamzah will become the Contingent Leader and Assistant Contingent Leader respectively during any matchday involving the club.
On 18 June, the club were given 3 points back from the 6 points deduction thus making them goes up to 5th place.
Position at the end of June
July
Starting 1 July 2017, Kelantan has suffered 5 successive league defeats. Somehow, Kelantan began their Malaysia Cup campaign with winning against UiTM in their home match.
Position at the end of July
September On 17 December 2017, Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan was voted in as the new president of Kelantan Football Association for the term 2018–2021. She was appointed to the top post of the association after defeating Datuk Muhammad Nasir Hamzah in the voting process. Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah defended his deputy president post, overcoming Datuk Rosmadi Ismail in the process.
Position at the end of September
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Competitions Overview
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- !rowspan=2|Competition !colspan=8|Record !rowspan=2|Started round !rowspan=2|Current position / round !rowspan=2|Final position / round !rowspan=2|First match !rowspan=2|Last match |- ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! |- | Liga Super
| — | 10th | 10th | 21 January | 28 October |- | Piala FA
| Second round | Second round | Second round | 14 February | 14 February |- | Piala Malaysia
| Group Stage | Group Stage | Group Stage | 5 July | 9 September |- ! Total
Results and fixtures
Pre-season and friendlies
Liga Super
Source: Fixtures / Result
Postponed matches Match no.CompetitionsOriginal dateNew dateAgainstStadiumLocation#1 (3)Liga Super21 January 201721 February 2017 Melaka UnitedSultan Muhammad IV StadiumKota Bharu, Kelantan#3 (14)Liga Super4 February 201712 April 2017 Johor Darul Ta'zimSultan Muhammad IV StadiumKota Bharu, Kelantan#9 (51)Liga Super18 March 201726 April 2017 SarawakSarawak State StadiumKuching, Sarawak#12 (70)Liga Super26 April 201724 May 2017 PenangSultan Muhammad IV StadiumKota Bharu, Kelantan
Results by matchday
Results summary
League table
Piala FA
Piala Malaysia
Group stage
Squad information
List of players Name Nationality Position(s) Date of Birth (Age) Since Signed from/Before Played for Goalkeepers 1 Mohamad Ramadhan Abdul Hamid GK 2016 Harimau Muda B 19Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (vice-captain) GK 2009 Harimau Muda 30Mohd Shahrizan Ismail GK 2008 Terengganu 33Ahmad Syihan HazmiU21 GK 2016 Kelantan U21s Centerbacks 2Norhafiz Zamani Misbah CB / DM 2015 Negeri Sembilan 3S. Subramaniam CB / DM / RB 2017 Selangor 11Hasmizan Kamarodin CB 2017 Terengganu 12Mamadou DansoFP (vice-captain) CB 2017 Rayo OKC 26Mohd Nasharizam Abd RashidLO CB 2016 Kelantan U21s 25Mohd Faris Shah Rosli CB / DM 2016 Kelantan U21s 32Mohamad Azwan AripinU21 CB 2016 Kelantan U21s Fullbacks 5Nik Shahrul AzimLO RB / RWB / CB 2011 Kelantan U21s 6Mohd Farisham Ismail RB / RWB / LB / LWB / CB 2008 Melaka TMFC 7Mohd Qayyum Marjoni Sabil LB / LWB / LW 2016 Kelantan U21s 13Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ismail LB 2017 Melaka United 15Mohd Daudsu Jamaluddin RB / RWB / LB / RW 2016 Johor Darul Ta'zim 24Zairul Fitree Ishak LB / LWB / LW 2009 Kedah Defensive midfielders 21Morgaro GomisFP DM 2016 Heart of Midlothian 27Faizol Nazlin Sayuti CB / DM 2014 Kelantan U21s 35Muhamad Fadhilah Mohd PauziU21 CM / DM 2016 Kelantan U21s Central Midfielders 4Mohd Rozaimi Azwar CM / CF 2015 Kelantan U21s 8Muhamad Shahrul Hakim RahimLO CM / RW 2016 Kelantan U21s 16Mohd Badhri Mohd Radzi (captain) AM / CM 2008 PDRM Attacking midfielders 18Mohd Khairul Izuan Rosli AM / SS / CF / RW / LW 2011 ATM 27Mohd Syafiq Abd RahmanLO RM * 2016 Kelantan U21s 34Muhammad Danial AshrafU21 AM / CF 2016 Kelantan U21s Wingers 10Nor Farhan Muhammad RW / LW / AM / CF / SS 2015 Terengganu 14S. Thinagaran RW 2017 PKNS 23Indra Putra Mahayuddin (vice-captain) AM / CF / LW / RW 2016 FELDA United 24Amir Zikri PauziLO LW 2016 Kelantan U21s Forwards 9Abou Bakr Al-MelFP CF 2017 Tripoli 17Fakhrul ZamanLO CF 2016 Kelantan U21s 20Hattaphon Bun An CF 2017 Kuala Lumpur 29Alessandro CelinFP CF 2017 Concordia Chiajna 36Nik Azli Nik AliasU21 CF / LW 2017 Kelantan U21s Remarks: U21 These players registered as Under-21 players at Piala Presiden competitions. FP These players are considered as foreign players at Malaysia domestic football competitions. LO These players are currently loan out to other clubs.
Formations first XI
Squad statistics Key: = Appearances, = Goals, M = Minutes played = Yellow card, = Red card Player names in bold denotes player that left mid-season (loaned)(number in bracket denotes the players plays as a substitute in a match)