Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Football Club is a football club based in Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.[1][2] The club represents the National University of Malaysia.

UKM
Full nameUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Football Club
Nickname(s)The Varsity Boys
Short nameUKMFC
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
GroundKuala Lumpur Stadium
Capacity18,000
OwnerNational University of Malaysia
ChairmanNoor Azlan Ghazali

History

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Early years

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The club was founded in 2013.[2] They have been competing in Malaysian Institutes of Higher Education Football League and has won several college football competitions.[1] UKM who won the Minister of Higher Education Ministry Cup and runners-up of Division One University Football League in 2014, was automatically eligible to join the 2015 Malaysia FAM League. Their place in Minister of Higher Education Ministry League was taken over by the MMU, 2014 Minister of Higher Education Division Two University Football League champion.[3][4]

In 2015, the club has been accepted by Football Association of Malaysia to compete in Malaysia FAM League, the third-tier of Malaysian football.[2][5] The club also collaborated with Sime Darby to provide a youth players for the Sime Darby youth team which competed in Malaysia President's Cup.[6][7]

2015 season

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After successfully bringing UKM to be the champion of the Minister of Higher Education Ministry Cup and the runner-up of the University Football League Division 1, Sulaiman Hussin moved to Sime Darby and joined the President's Cup squad coaching. Asnan Mohamad Zuki, who led University of Malaya to become the Minister of Higher Education Ministry Cup 2013 champion after beating UKM, was appointed as the UKM FC coach. On their first season in Malaysia FAM League, they finished in fourth place behind Perlis, Real Mulia and Megah Murni. Only one team from each league promoted into 2016 Malaysia Premier League, and Perlis became runners-up of Malaysia FAM League that season after lost into Melaka United.

UKM FC vice captain, Hafizuddin Sulaiman became top goalscorers of the club after scoring 8 goals - even he played as the defender.

2016 season

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UKM FC appointed Lim Kim Liang, ex Kuala Lumpur head coach and brought back Sulaiman Hussin as assistant head coach. They missed the spot into knock-out stage, as they finished fifth place. On this season, only top 4 of each league qualify into knock-out stage, and two teams into the finals automatically qualify into Malaysia Premier League.

UKM FC also qualified into Malaysia FA Cup for the first time. In the first round, they defeated Hanelang by penalty shout-out after draw 1–1 in UKM Bangi Stadium, their home base. Azri Zulkiflee scored in this match before Mohd Safix from Hanelang equalized. This match also the only UKM FC match at home in FA Cup history. In the second round, they lost into Kelantan at Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium.

2017 season

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Sulaiman Hussin promoted into UKM FC head coach, and they managed to finish in the top of the league - only lost twice with FELCRA and MOF by 1–0 at home. In knock-out stage, UKM FC defeated Kuching 2–1 on quarter-final, before qualified into final stage after beating Shahzan Muda 1–0 on semi-final. UKM FC lost 2-3 into Sime Darby, but both of them already qualified into 2018 Malaysia Premier League. But one month after final, Sime Darby decided to withdraw from the Premier League next season and focused into develop youth football, ending their involvement as a professional club. The club now competes in the KLFA First Division state league as an amateur club.[8][9]

On 2017 Malaysia FA Cup, they received the bye in the first round and defeated by Sabah at Likas Stadium in the second round.

2018 season

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The club has been promoted to Malaysia Premier League despite losing in the 2017 Malaysia FAM League Finals against Sime Darby. At the beginning of the 2018 season, the club signed four foreign players including one player from Asia. They were Waheed Oseni, Redouane Zerzouri, Atuheire Kipson and Nam Se-in. Due to poor performance, Atuheire Kipson was dropped by the club during mid-season and he was replaced by former MISC-MIFA forward, Michael Chukwubunna.

The change galvanized UKM, as they finished the league season in 8th place, and were runners-up of the inaugural Malaysia Challenge Cup.[10] Michael Chukwubunna also finished as top scorer in the latter competition with 13 goals.

2019 season

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Despite the team good performance in the league and cup, UKM FC were barred to participate in the 2019 Malaysia Premier League by Malaysia Football League on 28 November 2018, after the club failed to submit their registration paperwork on time, and the paperwork sent to MFL after they are given 7 days grace period are incomplete.[11] However, on 10 December 2018, they are given a second chance by MFL to appeal for reinstatement to Premier League,[12] which they do successfully, although MFL served UKM with a fine and warning for their initial failure.[13]

In this season, UKM recorded the biggest win in their Premier League history, as they demolished Sarawak 4–0 on March 2, 2019. They are also recorded the first ever win on Malaysia FA Cup history, won 5–1 after beating Protap at UKM Bangi Stadium on April 2, 2019.

2020 season and end of involvement in Malaysian League

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In the truncated 2020 season due to COVID-19 pandemic, UKM FC managed to finish in the 9th position out of 12 teams. But the pandemic hit the football community hard on the finances, including the team. After the university management has pulled the full financial support and the team was re-registered under a new private entity, they failed to give FAM concrete proof they have financial backing for the 2021 season. As a consequence, FAM expelled the team from the Premier League.[14]

Although UKM FC can apply for registration in the M3 League or below,[15] as of 2022, they have not involved in any of the leagues.

Stadium and locations

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Coordinates Location Stadium Capacity Year
2°55′55″N 101°47′04″E / 2.932°N 101.7845°E / 2.932; 101.7845 Bangi UKM Bangi Stadium 500 2015–2017, 2019
3°15′18″N 101°39′26″E / 3.254932°N 101.657202°E / 3.254932; 101.657202 Selayang MP Selayang Stadium 16,000 2018
3°06′02″N 101°43′17″E / 3.100535°N 101.721371°E / 3.100535; 101.721371 Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Stadium 18,000 2019–Present

Sponsors

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Period Sportswear Shirt sponsor
2015 Kika Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
2016 Ultron Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (Soaring Upwards)
2017 Warrix Sports Kopi Pak Belalang and Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (Soaring Upwards)
2018 Skyhawk Kopi Pak Belalang and Fusionet
2019 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020 Line 7

Season by season record

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Update on 12 October 2019.
  • Note :
  • Pld = Played, W = Win, D = Draw, L= Loss, F = Goal for, A = Goal against, D = Goal difference, Pts = Points, Pos = Position

  1st or Champions   2nd or Runner-up   3rd place   Promotion   Relegation

Season Domestic League Domestic Cup Overall Top Goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos FA Cup Malaysia Cup Challenge Cup Name Goals
2015 Malaysia FAM League 18 6 7 5 26 20 25 4th did not participate did not qualify Not yet held   Hafizudin Sulaiman 8
2016 Malaysia FAM League 14 4 4 6 13 16 16 5th Second round   Hadzirun Che Hamid, Faiz Bandong, Gusti Ishak, Azri Zulkiflee 2
2017 Malaysia FAM League 14 8 4 2 24 11 28 1st1 (promoted) Second round   Hasrul Nurkholis Hasim 10
2018 Malaysia Premier League 20 6 4 10 26 32 22 7th Third round Runners-up   Michael Ijezie 16
2019 Malaysia Premier League 20 6 4 10 28 32 22 8th Third round Runners-up   Mateo Roskam 16
2020 Malaysia Premier League 11 3 3 5 11 17 12 9th Second round2 (cancelled) Did not held2
  • 1 : They finished first in the league and qualified for knockout stage, ended as runners-up as they lost 2–3 on aggregate by Sime Darby.
  • 2 : Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled.

Current squad

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As of 11 June 2020.[16]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 DF   MAS Syed Irfan Syafiq
2 DF   GHA Ignatius Adukor
3 DF   MAS Kalaiharasan Letchumanan
4 MF   MAS Asnan Ahmad (captain)
5 DF   MAS Hafizudin Sulaiman
6 MF   MAS Saiful Hasnol
7 MF   MAS Azri Zulkiflee
8 FW   MAS Nor Farhan Muhammad
10 MF   MAS Hafizi Amiruddin
11 DF   MAS Irwan Syazmin
12 DF   MAS K. Reuben
13 DF   MAS Zairul Fitree Ishak
14 DF   MAS Zubair Kamarulzaman
15 DF   KOR Lee Seung-woo
16 FW   MAS Zarul Aidiel
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   MAS Terence Marieselvam
18 GK   MAS Amin Faisal
19 MF   MAS Baqiuddin Shamsudin
20 FW   MAS Faiz Hanif
21 DF   MAS Rafiq Shah Zaim
22 GK   MAS Remezey Che Ros
23 DF   MAS Imran Azizi
24 MF   MAS Syed Sobri
25 DF   MAS Tuan Ahmad Muqris
27 DF   MAS Rafizi Hamdan
28 DF   MAS Talhah Rosli
29 DF   MAS Syafiq Azri
30 FW   MAS Badrul Amin Hamid
33 FW   ARG Julián Bottaro
35 FW   NGA Akanni-Sunday Wasiu

Development squads

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As of 11 June 2020

Under-21s

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As of 11 June 2020.[17]
No. Name Nationality Position D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1 Muhammad Aiman Hakim Mat Tarmizi   GK 2000
20 Rishi Kumar a/l Agilan   GK 2000
22 Melvin Thiloshen Dass Michal Dass   GK 1999
25 Mohammad Ezan Aiman Mohd Ridzuan   GK 1999
Defenders
2 Muhammad Ashraf Mohd Zahir   RB/RWB 1999
4 Muhammad Syaiful Adha Kamaruzaman   CB 2000
5 Muhammad Afif Rafiqin Mohd Yusof   CB 2000
12 Ameer Hafiz Mokhtar   RB/RWB 2000
15 Muhammad Amierul Aiman Hasani   LB/LWB 1999
17 Mohd Danish Affan Mohd Nasir   CB 2000
24 Abdul Muiz Saifulzaman   LB/LWB 2000
Midfielders
3 Muhammad Zawir Zakwan Hasman   RW/RM 2000
6 Muhammad Izham Nor Alizan   CM 2000
8 Abdul Qayyum Sarkini   RW/RM 2000
9 Faris Akmal Azza Haslija   DM/CB 2001
10 Muhammad Zikri Fakhrul Zafran   AM/CM 6/6/99
11 Alif Danial Abu Kassim   LW /LM 2000
16 Harith Iskandar Hafinizam   CM 2000
18 Muhammad Alif Fikri Zainal Abidin   CM 2000
21 Ahmad Zaimulzikri Ibrahim   LW /LM 7/10/99
Forwards
7 Mohd Arfan Hafizi Mohd Nasaruddin   ST 2000
13 Mohd Danish Iskandar Khairudin   ST 2000
14 Ahmad Dzikri Radzuan   ST 2000
19 Muhammad Afiq Samsuddin   ST 2000
23 Ezzat Daniel Zahir   ST 2000

Under-19s

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As of 11 June 2020.[18]
No. Name Nationality Position D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1 Mohd Firdaus Amin Zairol Azhar   GK 2003
20 Hasbi Hasani Mohd Fauzi   GK 2001
22 Amirul Aqasha Shaharudin   GK 2002
Defenders
2 Mikael Danish Mohd Adlan   RB / RWB 2002
4 Muhammad Hirzi Diniy Mohd Zaki   CB 2002
11 Muhammad Adam Iman Nazril   CB / LB / RB 2002
12 Fauzan Asnomi   LB / LWB 2002
15 Ilhan Hakim Razmat   RB / RWB 2002
21 Akmal Hakiem Ibrahim   CB / RB 2002
23 Muhammad Aizzat Hakimi Zaini   CB 2002
25 Maiyurran a/l Ganesan   LB / LWB 2002
Midfielders
3 Muhammad Asyraaf Rifqi Rosli   CM 2002
6 Aidil Haikal Azizan   RW /RM 2002
8 Muhammad Aliff Aiman Mohd Aznam   LW / LM 2002
14 Muhammad Zulkarnain Zainorin   CM 2001
17 Muhammad Danial Hakimi Salehudin   RW /RM 2002
18 Mohd Aidil Faris Abdul Malek   LW /LM 2002
19 Muhammad Nazarul Ikram Mohd Nizam   CM 2002
24 Muhammad Arif Najmi Mohd Khalid   CM 2002
Forwards
5 Muhammad Aiman Daniel Mazlan   ST 2002
7 Afdal Shahryll Nizam   ST 2002
9 Muhammad Amir Zakwan Mohd Asrani Ramu   ST 2002
10 Sidhata Gautam a/l Selvam   ST 2002
13 Fehriz Hakim Tadjul Hakma   ST 2002
16 Muhammad Adam Syafiq Ahmad Faizal   ST 2001

Management team

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Club personnel

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Position Name
Team manager   Zach Gillan
Assistant manager   Suhaimi Suliman
Head coach   Sulaiman Hussin
Assistant head coach   Kamarudin Anuar
Coach   Yusrizal Yusoff
Coach   Rezal Zambery Yahya
Goalkeeping coach   Abdul Rahman Baba
Fitness coach   Ashadi Mohd Yusoff
Team Doctor   Muhamad Karbela Reza Ramlan
  Nik Alif Azriq Nik Abdullah
Physiotherapist   Mohd Tasnim Abu Mansor
Masseur   Kamal Hassan
Kitman   Mohd Raffiq Roslan
U21 Team manager   Ku Besry Ku Aziz
U21 Head coach   Radzali Embi
U21 Assistant head coach   Muhd Zamri Hassan
U19 Team manager   Abdul Fatah Shadan@Ahahadan
U19 Head coach   Zach Gillan
U19 Assistant head coach   Zainal Noordin
U19 Goalkeeping coach   Reza Iqrimal Redzawan
U19 Fitness coach   Muhammad Iftiqarbin Ahmad Termizi
U19 Physiotherapist   Ibrahim Kasan

Managerial history

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Head coaches by years (2015–present)

Update on 12 October 2019.

Years Name Nationality Games Win Draw Lose Win % Honours
2015 Asnan Mohamad Zuki   Malaysia 18 6 7 5 33.33%
2016 Lim Kim Lian   Malaysia 16 4 5 7 25%
2017–2020 Sulaiman Hussin   Malaysia 97 40 24 33 41.23% Runners-up of FAM League (2017)
Runners-up of Challenge Cup (2018, 2019)

Honours

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Domestic competitions

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League

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Affiliated clubs

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References

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  1. ^ a b "UKM Sports Awards 2013 And Launch Of UKM FC". www.ukm.my. 2014-04-28.
  2. ^ a b c "Majlis Anugerah Sukan Ke-24 UKM Dan Pelancaran UKM FC" [UKM's 24th Sports Awards Ceremony And UKM FC Launch]. www.ukm.my (in Malay). 2014-04-28.
  3. ^ "Tugas getir nanti MMU". Harian Metro Online. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  4. ^ "AWAS UITM PERLIS!". Planet Bola. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  5. ^ "UKM FC sasar tiga teratas Liga FAM 2015" [UKM FC targets the top three in the 2015 FAM League] (in Malay). 2015-03-25.
  6. ^ "Sime Darby Jalin Kerjasama Dengan UKM FC" [Sime Darby Collaborates With UKM FC] (in Malay). Archived from the original on 2018-07-20.
  7. ^ "Ismail Fokus Asah Bakat". Sime Darby Football Club. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Sime Darby FC tarik diri Liga Perdana 2018". Utusan Malaysia. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Community Sports: YSD ends support for club, to focus on developing junior football talent next - The Star Online". The Star. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Football: TFC II emerge victorious in inaugural Challenge Cup | The Star".
  11. ^ "UKM FC disingkirkan daripada Liga Perdana". 28 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Terima kasih MFL". 11 December 2018.
  13. ^ "MIFA for Super League | New Straits Times". 28 December 2018.
  14. ^ "FAM throws Felda and UKM out of the 2021 Premier League season | Goal.com Malaysia". www.goal.com. October 31, 2020.
  15. ^ "Pintu sudah tertutup buat FELDA United, UKM FC | Berita Harian".
  16. ^ "UKM FC 2020". FAM. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  17. ^ "UKM FC U21". FAM. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  18. ^ "UKM FC U19". FAM. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Ismail Fokus Asah Bakat". Sime Darby Football Club. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
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