2018 Malaysia Premier League

The 2018 Malaysia Premier League, known as 2018 100Plus Malaysia Premier League for sponsorship reasons,[1] was the 15th season of the Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2004.

100Plus Malaysia Premier League
Season2018
Dates1 February – 27 July 2018
ChampionsFelda United
2nd Second Division title
PromotedFelda United
Felcra
RelegatedTerengganu II
Matches played110
Goals scored325 (2.95 per match)
Top goalscorerCasagrande
(19 goals)
Biggest home winSabah 4–0 Terengganu II
(2 February 2018)
Kuantan 4–0 UKM
(23 February 2018)
MIFA 4–0 UiTM
(14 April 2018)
Sarawak 5–2 Terengganu II
(21 July 2018)
Johor Darul Ta'zim II 4–0 UKM
(27 July 2018)
Biggest away winPDRM 2–6 Felda United
(6 February 2018)
Highest scoring8 goals
PDRM 2–6 Felda United
(6 February 2018)
Longest winning run7 matches
Felda United
Longest unbeaten run12 matches
Felcra
Longest winless run8 matches
Johor Darul Ta'zim II
Longest losing run4 matches
UKM
2017
2019
All statistics correct as of 27 July 2018.

Team changes

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A total of 12 teams contested the league, including 6 sides from the 2017 season, four relegated from the 2017 Malaysia Super League and four promoted from the 2017 Malaysia FAM League.

Notes:

^1 Originally Sime Darby were promoted along with UKM as finalists of the 2017 Malaysia FAM League final, but after Sime Darby announced their withdrawal from the Premier League participation, Felcra, the next highest team in the FAM League table, were invited as replacement.[7]
^2 FELDA United were relegated to Premier League after failing to receive the FAM License to compete in the Super League; while T-Team were relegated to Premier League after their absorption to Terengganu, rebranding as Terengganu II and change of their status as reserve team to Terengganu. Negeri Sembilan and PKNP, 2 highest teams in the Premier League with FAM License, were promoted to Super League in their place.[8]

Disbandment of Kuantan FA

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After failing to settle bad debt with former players for last season campaign,[9] 4 months failing to pay current team wages.[10] and unable to turn up for a league fixture against PDRM,[11] FMLLP decided to disqualify Kuantan from the rest of the campaign.[12] Because of their disqualification, all points that were won by other teams against Kuantan will not count and the league was left with 11 teams out of initial 12 with teams that were due to play Kuantan were given a bye week. It is the first time this has ever occurred in the professional level of Malaysian football where a team is disallowed to compete after breaking the rules and regulations with the season on-going.

Kuantan stated that Marcerra (the team that bought their license) wanted to take over the bad debts amounted to RM 3.5 million and clear all the overdue payment from last season.[13] But it seemed fruitless as after 4 months into the league campaign, the problem was still unsettled as the current squad players decided to leave the team[14] and opted to join teams in the FAM league. Kuantan were awarded RM 500,000 annual grant but minus RM 200,000 for fined after failing to complete their registration papers.[15]

Stadium and locations

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Locations of teams in the 2018 Malaysia Premier League teams
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Felcra Shah Alam Shah Alam Stadium 80,372
Felda United Jengka Tun Abdul Razak Stadium 25,000[16]
Johor Darul Ta'zim II Pasir Gudang Pasir Gudang Corporation Stadium 15,000[17]
MIFA Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya Stadium 25,000[18]
PDRM Shah Alam Shah Alam Stadium 80,372
Penang Batu Kawan Penang State Stadium 40,000[19]
Sabah Kota Kinabalu Likas Stadium 35,000[20]
Sarawak Kuching Sarawak State Stadium 26,000[21]
Terengganu II Kuala Terengganu Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium 15,000
UiTM Shah Alam UiTM Stadium 10,000[22]
UKM Selayang Selayang Stadium 11,098

Personnel and sponsoring

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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)
Felcra   Tarcísio Pugliese[23]   Shahrom Kalam Uhlsport FELCRA, HeMAT
Felda United   B. Sathianathan[24]   Shukor Adan FBT FELDA, Hotel Tenera
Johor Darul Ta'zim II   Benjamin Mora[25]   Shakir Shaari Nike Forest City
MIFA   K. Devan[26]   Kpah Sherman Puma MIFA, MAHSA University
PDRM   Zulhamizan Zakaria[27]   Fauzi Majid Line 7 ODR Lubricants
Penang   Zainal Abidin[28]   Azrul Ahmad Puma
Sabah   Jelius Ating[29]   Rawilson Batuil Carino Sawit Kinabalu, Sabah Energy Corp, Asian Supply Base
Sarawak   Ian Gillan[30]   Hairol Mokhtar Starsport
Terengganu II   Mustaffa Kamal[31]   Hasbullah Awang[32] Kobert Chicken Cottage
UiTM   Wan Mustaffa Wan Ismail[33]   Afif Asyraf Puma Soaring Upwards, UiTM Holdings
UKM   Sulaiman Husin[34]   Asnan Ahmad SkyHawk Kopi Pak Belalang, Fusionex

Coaching changes

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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
Terengganu II   Rahmad Darmawan Resigned 23 November 2017 Pre-season   Mustaffa Kamal 27 November 2017
PDRM   Fauzi Pilus End of contract 31 October 2017   Zulhamizan Zakaria 28 November 2017
Sarawak   Pengiran Bala End of caretaker role 1 December 2017   Ian Gillan 2 December 2017
MIFA   Jacob Joseph End of contract 31 October 2017   K. Devan 3 December 2017
Felcra   Rosle Md. Derus Reassigned as assistant coach 22 December 2017   Tarcísio Pugliese 22 December 2017
Kuantan   Zulhamizan Zakaria Resigned 28 November 2017   Ismail Zakaria 1 December 2017
PDRM   Zulhamizan Zakaria End of contract 31 July 2018 5th   Fauzi Pilus 1 August 2018
Johor Darul Ta'zim II   Benjamin Mora Promoted to JDT I 10 August 2018 4th   Ervin Boban 11 August 2018

Foreign players

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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 3
Felcra   Léo Carioca   Endrick   Casagrande   David Laly[35]
Felda United   Thiago Junio[36]   Gilberto Fortunato[36]   Thiago Fernandes[37]   Iain Ramsay[37]
Johor Darul Ta'zim II   Bruno Soares[38][39]   Nicolás Fernández   Harry Novillo   Hafiz Sujad[40]
  Murilo Damasceno
  Lucas Ontivero
MIFA   Elizeu   Kpah Sherman[41]   L'Imam Seydi   Bae Beom-geun
PDRM   Argzim Redžović[42]   Shim Un-seob[43]   Petrisor Voinea[44]   Shunsuke Nakatake[45]
Penang   Ugo Ukah[46]   Sanna Nyassi[47]   Chidi Edeh   Kang Seung-jo[48]   Ken Ilsø[49][50]
Sabah   Francis Kasonde[51]   Rodoljub Paunović   Pito Ramos[52]   Keisuke Ogawa   Heo Jae-nyeong[51]
  Lee Kil-Hoon[51]
Sarawak   Nebojsa Marinkovic   Mateo Roskam   Miloš Raičković   Kim Chi-gon
Terengganu II   Andrew Jean-Baptiste[53]   Sébastien Thurière[54]   Akanni-Sunday Wasiu[55]   Bruno Suzuki   Lee Jun-hyeob[56]
UiTM   Mamadou Danso   Venyamin Shumeyko   Okereke Timothy   Noh Sang-min   Kota Kawase
  Lucas Pugh[57]
  Dechi Marcel
  Dao Bakary
UKM   Waheed Oseni   Redouane Zerzouri   Michael Ijezie   Nam Se-in[58]   Atuheire Kipson[59]
  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • ^3 Foreign players who left their clubs or were de-registered from playing squad due to medical issues or other matters.

Naturalisation

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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Player 1 Player 2
Felda United    Stuart Wark3    Curran Singh Ferns3
Johor Darul Ta'zim II    Samuel Somerville3    Ernest Wong3
Sarawak    Shazalee Ramlee3

Notes:

^3 Carrying Malaysian heritage.
^4 Participated in the Malaysia national team squad.

Results

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Felda United (C, P) 20 12 7 1 44 24 +20 43 Promotion to 2019 Malaysia Super League
2 Felcra 20 9 7 4 30 24 +6 34 Withdraw from league for next season
3 MIFA (P) 20 9 5 6 36 26 +10 32 Promotion to 2019 Malaysia Super League
4 Johor Darul Ta'zim II 20 8 6 6 28 23 +5 30
5 PDRM 20 8 5 7 28 31 −3 29
6 Sabah 20 7 7 6 35 26 +9 28
7 UKM 20 6 4 10 26 32 −6 22
8 Sarawak 20 6 4 10 27 35 −8 22
9 UiTM 20 6 4 10 23 36 −13 22
10 Penang 20 5 6 9 20 30 −10 21
11 Terengganu II 20 4 5 11 22 34 −12 17
Updated to match(es) played on 30 December 2018. Source: FAM, FMLLP
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Result table

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Home \ Away FCR FEL JDTII MIF PDRM PEN SAB SWK TRGII UIT UKM
Felcra 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 2–1
Felda United 1–1 2–2 0–3 2–2 3–0 1–0 3–2 3–2 2–0 0–0
Johor Darul Ta'zim II 1–2 1–4 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–2 4–0
MIFA 1–2 2–3 1–1 2–3 3–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 4–0 3–1
PDRM 1–3 2–6 0–0 2–0 1–0 3–2 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–2
Pulau Pinang 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 3–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–1
Sabah 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 0–0 1–1 4–0 3–1 1–3
Sarawak 2–3 1–3 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–2 5–2 0–2 2–1
Terengganu II 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–3 1–0
UiTM 1–1 1–4 0–2 0–2 1–3 3–1 0–3 3–2 2–3 2–0
UKM 2–0 1–2 1–0 3–3 1–2 3–1 3–2 2–1 1–2 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on 27 July 2018. Source: FAM
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

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LeaderRelegation to 2019 Malaysia FAM LeagueDisqualifiedQualified to 2018 Malaysia Cup
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920
Felda United31111111111111111111
Felcra57445442222232222222
MIFA78556657784323445333
Johor Darul Ta'zim II6691112111112111111888666654
PDRM81012810976563344333565
Sabah12222234335555554446
UKM101271011121211101010999777977
Sarawak446743234566668881088
UiTM23333565647777101010799
Penang1158977888789101199981010
Terengganu II1211111291099999111110111111111111
Kuantan99106881010DQDQDQDQDQDQDQDQDQDQDQDQ
Source: [citation needed]

Season statistics

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Top scorers

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As of matches played on 27 July 2018.[60]

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name.

Rank Player Club Goals
1   Casagrande Felcra 19
2   Bobby Gonzales Sarawak 14
  Hector Ramos Sabah
  Kpah Sherman MIFA
  Thiago Fernandes Felda United
6   Akanni-Sunday Wasiu Terengganu II 12
7   Gilberto Fortunato Felda United 10
8   Mateo Roskam Sarawak 9

Top assists

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Players sorted first by assists, then by last name.

Rank Player Club Assists
1   Endrick Felcra 10
  Nicolás Fernández Johor Darul Ta'zim II
3   Iain Ramsay Felda United 9
4   Bae Beom-geun MIFA 8
5   Maxsius Musa Sabah 7

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date
  Gilberto Fortunato Felda United PDRM 6–2 (A) 6 February 2018
  Casagrande Felcra Sarawak 3–2 (A) 10 February 2018
  Žarko Korać Kuantan UKM 4–0 (H) 23 February 2018
  Casagrande Felcra Terengganu II 3–1 (H) 21 May 2018

Notes:
(H) – Home ; (A) – Away

Own goals

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Rank Player For Against Date Goals
1   Daudsu Jamaluddin Kuantan UiTM 10 February 2018 1
  Fazly Mazlan Johor Darul Ta'zim II Terengganu II 16 April 2018 1
  Andrew Jean-Baptiste Terengganu II Sarawak 21 July 2018 1

Clean sheets

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Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1   Farizal Harun Felda United 5
  Muhaimin Mohamad MIFA
  Sheril Anuar PDRM
4   Soffuan Tawil UiTM 4
5   Suhaimi Husin Terengganu II 3
  Rozaimie Rohim Sabah
7   Robson Rendy Rining Sabah 2
8   Iqbal Suhaimi Sarawak 1
  Abdul Gafur Samsudin UKM

See also

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References

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  3. ^ "Sarawak face up to relegation, hoping for quick return to MSL". ESPN FC. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Penang relegated as JDT celebrate MSL title by thrashing Kelantan". ESPN FC. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu gain promotion to Super League next season". Malay Mail Online. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. ^ "KL champions but ATM and Perlis wave goodbye to Premier League". Goal.com. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
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  10. ^ "'Ini aksi terakhir Marcerra Kuantan FA'". 5 April 2018.
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