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Kuala Lumpur City

Full name	Kuala Lumpur City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The City Boys
Short name	KL City FC, KLCFC
Founded	1974; 50 years ago (1974) (as Federal Territory)
Ground	Kuala Lumpur Stadium
Capacity	18,000
Owner	Kuala Lumpur Football Association
President	Fahmi Fadzil
Head coach	Miroslav Kuljanac
League	Malaysia Super League
2023	Malaysia Super League, 7th of 14
Website	https://kualalumpurfootball.com
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, known simply as KL City FC, is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Malaysian football, and was founded in 1974 as Federal Territory by the Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA). It was later renamed Kuala Lumpur FA and Kuala Lumpur United, before renaming to its current name in 2021.

Kuala Lumpur City won two Malaysian league titles, four Malaysian Cups, three Malaysian FA Cups, and three Malaysian Charity Shields. It also played in the group stages of the Asian Club Championship on two occasions.

Following its founding, a fierce rivalry developed between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor mainly due to their geographical location. The battle between these two teams is often referred to as the Klang Valley Derby, which was renewed in the 2010 season after Kuala Lumpur ended a seven-year spell in the second-tier with promotion to the Malaysia Super League. Kuala Lumpur were relegated to the second-tier Malaysia Premier League in 2012 and the following year, in 2013, Kuala Lumpur were relegated to the third-tier Malaysia FAM League for the first time in its history.

History

Kuala Lumpur had its most successful period in the late 1980s when they won the national league twice, in 1986 and 1988. They also won the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years (1987, 1988 and 1989). The team enjoyed considerable success in cup competitions in the 1990s, winning the Malaysian FA Cup in 1993, 1994 and 1999. Kuala Lumpur won the Malaysian Charity Shield on three occasions, in 1988, 1995 and 2000.

In September 2020, the club was privatized in accordance to the privatization process by the Football Association of Malaysia and was renamed as Kuala Lumpur United. In December 2020, Stanley Bernard was named the new CEO of the club.

In March 2021, prior to the 2021 Malaysia Super League season, the team changed its name to Kuala Lumpur City. During the same season, Kuala Lumpur City defeated Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0 in the final of the 2021 Malaysia Cup, winning the cup for the first time in 32 years.

In February 2023, Rinani Group Berhad acquired a majority stake in the club.

Players

Current squad

As of 11 May 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  NZL Lawton Green 4 DF  MAS Kamal Azizi 5 DF  MNE Adrijan Rudović 6 DF  MAS Ryan Lambert (on loan from Johor Darul Ta'zim) 7 MF  BIH Jovan Motika 8 MF  MAS Zhafri Yahya 9 DF  AUS Giancarlo Gallifuoco 11 FW  PHI Patrick Reichelt 12 DF  MAS Declan Lambert (on loan from Johor Darul Ta'zim) 14 MF  SRB Lazar Sajčić 16 DF  MAS Partiban Janasekaran 17 FW  MAS Sean Giannelli 18 MF  MAS Mahalli Jasuli 20 MF  MAS Amirul Aiman 21 MF  MAS Kenny Pallraj

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 GK  MAS Hafizul Hakim 23 DF  MAS Nicholas Swirad 25 DF  MAS Anwar Ibrahim 28 MF  MAS Paulo Josué (captain) 29 MF  MAS Arif Shaqirin 30 GK  MAS Azri Ghani 33 DF  MAS Juzaerul Jasmi 34 DF  MAS Khairul Naim 37 FW  MAS Haqimi Azim 42 FW  MAS Suhaimi Abu 66 DF  MAS Nabil Hakim 70 MF  MAS Hadi Mizei 77 MF  MAS Sharvin Selvakumaran 88 MF  MAS Brendan Gan

Management and coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Miroslav Kuljanac
Assistant head coach	Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail
Assistant coach	Ahmed Elwardani
Goalkeeper coach	Guilherme Azevedo
Fitness coach	Mohd Azizan Ghazali
Physiotherapist	Renesh Prabaharan
Team admin	Al-Naliq Hasmi Abu Hassan
Media officer	Ahmad Shznazri Ahmad Hishamnuri
Masseurs	Hamzah Zakaria
	Iqbal Afiq Azmi
Kit managers	Muhammad Syafiq Danish
	Muhammad Syahmi Syazwan

List of head coaches

Years	Nat.	Name	Achievement
1979–1981		Yunus Tasman
1982–1984		S. Subramaniam
1985–1986		Jozef Vengloš	1986 League Championship
1987–1989		Chow Kwai Lam	1987 Malaysia Cup 1988 Malaysia Cup 1989 Malaysia Cup 1988 League Championship 1988 Charity Shield Cup 1989 ASEAN Club Championship
1990		Jozef Jankech
1991		Milouš Kvaček
1992		Chow Kwai Lam
1993		S. Subramaniam	1993 Malaysia FA Cup
1994		Ken Shellito	1994 Malaysia FA Cup
1995 – May 1998		Chow Kwai Lam	1995 Charity Shield Cup
May 1998 – June 2000		Mat Zan Mat Aris	1999 Malaysia FA Cup 2000 Charity Shield Cup
June 2000 – December 2000		Lim Kim Lian
2001–2002		Wathiq Naji
2001–2002		Lim Kim Lian
2003		Igor Novak
2004–2007		Mat Zan Mat Aris
January 2008		Hans Jurgen Gede
April 2008 – 2012		Razip Ismail
2013		Stanislav Leiskovsky
2014		Tang Siew Seng
January 2015		Ricardo Formosinho
April 2015		Tang Siew Seng
December 2015 – November 2016		Ismail Zakaria
December 2016 – March 2017		Wanderley Junior
March 2017 – September 2018		Fábio Magrão	2017 Malaysia Premier League
December 2018 – March 2019		Yusri Che Lah
March 2019 – June 2019		Chong Yee Fatt
July 2019 – November 2019		Rosle Md Derus
January 2020 – November 2020		Nidzam Adzha
January 2021 – July 2023		Bojan Hodak	2021 Malaysia Cup
July 2023 – March 2024		Nenad Baćina
March 2024 – present		Miroslav Kuljanac

Honours

Domestic

League

• Malaysian First Division
  • Winners (2): 1986, 1988
  • Runners-up (3): 1982, 1987, 1989

• Malaysian Second Division
  • Winners (1): 2017

• Malaysian Third Division
  • Runners-up (1): 2014

Cup

• Malaysia Cup
  • Winners (4): 1987, 1988, 1989, 2021
  • Runners-up (1): 1985

• Malaysia FA Cup
  • Winners (3): 1993, 1994, 1999
  • Runners-up (2): 1992, 2023

• Malaysia Charity Shield
  • Winners (3): 1988, 1995, 2000
  • Runners-up (5): 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2022

• Federal Territory Minister Cup
  • Winners (2): 2021, 2023
  • Runners-up (1): 2022

Continental

• Asian Club Championship

1987: Group stage (2nd in Group B)

1989–90: Group stage (2nd in Group A)

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup

1994–95: Quarter-finals

• AFC Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2022
• ASEAN Champions' Cup
  • Winners (2): 1987, 1989

U21 team

• Malaysian President's Cup
  • Winners (3): 1989, 1992, 1998
  • Runners-up (2): 1995, 2010

Season-by-season record

1. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Note: A single round-robin league system was instituted in 1979 following the entry of Brunei FA, Kuala Lumpur FA, Sabah FA and Sarawak FA into mainstream Malaysian football. For three years until 1981, the league remained no more than a preliminary round for the knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. In 1982, a League Cup was introduced to differentiate the league winners from the Malaysia Cup champions.

Continental record

All results list Kuala Lumpur's goal tally first.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1987	Asian Club Championship	Qualifying round (Group 6)	Tiong Bahru	0–0		1st out of 4
			Kota Ranger	8–1
			Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian	2–0
		Semi-finals (Group B)	August 1	1–1		2nd out of 4
			Yomiuri FC	1–0
			Kazma SC	1–1
1989–90	Asian Club Championship	Qualifying round (Group 5)	Philippine Air Force	6–0		1st out of 5
			Muara Stars	7–1
			Pelita Jaya	2–1
			Geylang International	4–2
		Semi-finals (Group A)	Nissan Yokohama	1–2		2nd out of 3
			Fanja	2–0
1994–95	Asian Cup Winners' Cup	First round	ABDB	5–1	2–0	7–1
		Second round	Gelora Dewata	2–1	0–2	w/o
		Quarter-finals	Telephone Org. Thailand	2–3 (a.e.t.)	1–2	3–5
2022	AFC Cup	Group H	PSM Makassar	0–0		2nd out of 3
			Tampines Rovers	2–1
		ASEAN Zonal semi-finals	Viettel	0–0 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)
		ASEAN Zonal final	PSM Makassar	5–2
		Inter-zone play-off semi-finals	ATK Mohun Bagan	3–1
		Inter-zone play-off final	Sogdiana Jizzakh	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)
		Final	Al-Seeb	0–3
2024–25	ASEAN Club Championship	Group B	Kaya–Iloilo	1–0	—
			Borneo Samarinda	1–0	—
			Lion City Sailors	—
			Công An Hà Nội		—
			Buriram United	—

1. Gelora Dewata was disqualified due to fielding two ineligible players.

References

1. "The City Boys have issues with match officials". New Straits Times. 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
2. "City Boys buy Perak duo". New Straits Times. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
3. "Kuala Lumpur United". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
4. Azharie, Farah (28 October 2024). "KLFA chief questions alleged Gwangju deal". NST Online. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
5. "Malaysia – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
6. ^ "Malaysia – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
7. "All Malaysian league clubs complete initial privatisation process, seven receive conditional license". goal.com. 6 October 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
8. Azharie, Farah (29 January 2021). "Legal wrangle over FA or FC". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
9. "Kuala Lumpur United appoint ex-player Stanley Bernard as club CEO". goal.com. 13 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
10. "Fans in a flap over KL's name change". New Straits Times. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
11. "After 32 years – KL are Malaysia Cup champions again". Free Malaysia Today. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
12. "Rinani Acquires KL City FC". acnnewswire.com. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
13. ^ "Team Detail – Kuala Lumpur City FC – Liga Super Malaysia 2024". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
14. "KLUFC juara sulung Piala Prihatin Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan". Astro Awani (in Malay). 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
15. "KL City rampas Piala Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan". Astro Awani (in Malay). 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
16. "Honours List KLCFC". Kuala Lumpur City F.C. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.

External links

• Official website

• Kuala Lumpur City F.C.
• 1974 establishments in Malaysia
• Malaysia Cup winners
• Malaysia Premier League clubs
• Malaysia Super League clubs
• Malaysia FAM League clubs
• Association football clubs established in 1974