The FAM Cup ( Malay: Piala FAM) was a

knock-out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament for the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. From 2008 to 2018 it was held as a third-tier league and used the FAM League (Liga FAM) name. The competition was first held in September 1951. Up to 1973, the competition was open to state teams that also competed in the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

, before the

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (commonly abbreviated as FAM; ) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia, headquartered at Wisma FAM. The FAM is also one of the founding members of both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) a ...

(FAM) opened up the competition to club sides from 1974 onwards.

Format

* 1951–1973: as a secondary knockout competition between state teams only after

Piala Malaysia The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

. * 1974–1989: as a secondary knockout competition between club teams only after

. * 1990–2007: as a third-tier knockout competition. * 2008–2018 : as a third-tier league competition.

History

Piala FAM was established in August 1951 as a secondary knockout competition to the more prestigious Malaya Cup. The competition was held between the state teams and uniformed units including

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the

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, the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, and the

Malaysian Prison Department The Malaysian Prison Department (; Jawi: ; ), is a department under Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for prisons where offenders sentenced by the courts are held. These prisons also serve as detention and recovery institutions. T ...

in its early days. The inaugural season started in September 1951 after the Malaya Cup final concluded. The final was held on 26 April 1952 between

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

which was won by Penang. Starting in 1974, the state teams were barred from entering the competition and only club sides were allowed to enter. With the advent of the two-division Semi-Pro League in 1989, the FAM Cup became a third-tier competition. In 1993, the format of the competition was changed to include a two-group league which was followed by a traditional knockout format. Promotion to the professional

M-League The Malaysian League, also known as the M-League ( Malay: ''Liga Malaysia'' or ''Liga-M''), is a terminology used to describe the professional football league in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league and its divisions ...

was introduced for the first time in 1997, with Johor FC and NS Chempaka becoming the first two sides to be promoted that year. The final knockout competition format was played out for the 2007 season where four clubs were promoted including the champions, runners-up and the losing semi-finalists. In 2008, further changes were made when the knockout stages were abolished and a double round-robin league format was introduced. The tournament was now known as Liga FAM. In 2016, the FAM decided to rename the competition again from Liga FAM back to its original name, the Piala FAM. However, the format of the competition was still contested as a league tournament as before. The final match for the 2016 season was broadcast by Astro Arena. A total of 16 clubs competed in the competition for the 2017 season and was divided into two groups. On 15 February 2017, Sungai Ara withdrew from the league and left the competition with 15 clubs in total. It was announced on 19 December 2018 that the format was changed back to a straight knock-out tournament, starting from the 2019 season. This proposal was scrapped however as the

rebranded the competition as the Malaysia M3 League from the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

onwards, with the FAM taking control of both the Malaysia M3 League and the Malaysia M4 League as well.

Logo evolution

Since the inception of the competition in 1951, numerous logos were introduced to reflect the sponsorship. For the 2017 season a new logo was unveiled. File:2013 FAM League Logo.png, The logo that was used from

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

until the end of the

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Format

History

Logo evolution

Clubs

Champions

As Malaysia FAM Cup

Performances by clubs/teams and states

Performance by club (1952–2018)

Performance by states (1952–2018)

References