The Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League (, 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.http://johorsoutherntigers.com.my/14-state-and-social-league-organisers-sign-agreement-to-join-m5-league/ 14 STATE AND SOCIAL LEAGUE ORGANISERS SIGN AGREEMENT TO JOIN M5 LEAGUE It was created as the Malaysian Football League's reform of the domestic structure and replacement of the Malaysia FAM 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. 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.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 In 2019, a new subsidiary known as the Amateur Football League (AFL), was formed. The AFL officially confirmed the formation of the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League as the third and fourth divisions.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
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.https://www.foxsports.com.my/liga-malaysia/38174/gambaran-struktur-piramid-bola-sepak-malaysia-2019/ Gambaran struktur piramid bola sepak Malaysia 2019 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. At the end of the season, the top club from each group was promoted to the Malaysia Premier League. 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. 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.
Number of clubs throughout the years Period 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 2024–252024–25 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 Warrior2025–262025–26 4th(2025–26) Kelantan United2016 (FAM League)2019 Champions (2019) Kijang Rangers2022 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 20232024–25 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 GSA2025–262025–26 14th (2025–26) Perlis United 2020 2023 8th (2023) PIB Shah Alam 2020 2024–25 Champions (2022) PT Athletic 2024–252024–25 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 Phoenix2025–262025–26 13th (2025–26) Semarak 20202020 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.ClubChampionsRunners-up1 Immigration1 (2023)1 (2024–25)2 Kelantan United1 (2019)3 PIB Shah Alam1 (2022)4 Melaka1 (2024–25)5 Johor Darul Ta'zim II1 (2025–26)6 Kuala Lumpur Rovers2 (2022, 2023)7 Kuching1 (2019)8 Selangor II1 (2025–26)
Awards, Records and achievements
Prize money The 2025–26 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows.
Winner: RM 200,000 Runner-up: RM 50,000
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 United28 2022 Firdaus Azizul Immigration22 2023 Azim Rahim Immigration24 2024–25 Azim Rahim Melaka22 2025–26 Emmanuel Mbarga Kelantan Red Warrior32
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
See also FAM Football Awards History of Malaysian football Expatriate footballers in Malaysia List of foreign Malaysian League players Football in Malaysia
References