Yangon United Football Club ( ) is a Burmese professional

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 ...

club based at Yangon United Sports Complex in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. Owned by Tay Za, a prominent Burmese businessman, it was one of eight clubs that participated in the inaugural edition of the

Myanmar National League The Myanmar National League (abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which consisted only of 14 Yangon-based football clubs, with eight profession ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, where they finished as runners-up. The club has won a record of 5 league, 3

General Aung San Shield The General Aung San Shield (formerly the ''MFF Cup'') is the top football knockout tournament in Myanmar. On 26 March 2014, the MFF league committee decided the knock-out cup (General Aung San Shield) winner would compete in the Mekong Club Cha ...

and 3

MFF Charity Cup The MFF Charity Cup is Football in Myanmar, Myanmar football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Myanmar National League season and the holders of the General Aung San Shield at Aung San Stadium. If the Myanmar National ...

titles. Yangon United's biggest rival used to be Yadanarbon, with whom they contest the Myanmar rivalry. However, due to Yadanarbon's decline, Yangon United's main rivals are Shan United, contesting the new Myanmar National League derby.

History

Air Bagan FC

On 18 July 2007, the chairman of

Htoo Group of Companies The Htoo Group of Companies (HGC, ) is a Burmese holding company, with headquarters at 5 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar. HGC is the parent company of Air Bagan, a privately held Burmese airline company. The company has several subs ...

announced to established a football club. So the company took over a first division club, Viva Football Cllub and changed the name to Air Bagan Football Club which competed in the 2007–2008 season. Air Bagan became champions of the first division in their first debut year in which the club sees themselves being promoted to the top division, Air Bagan competed in the 2008 Myanmar Premier League season and finished in the top half of the table.

Yangon United

After the league was transformed to the nation's first professional football league, Air Bagan was renamed to Yangon United in 2009 and represented the seven million population in Yangon. Yangon United also formed an alliance with Thailand club,

BEC Tero Sasana Police Tero Football Club (), formerly known as BEC-Tero Sasana, is a Thai professional football club based in Lak Si, Bangkok. The club finished runners-up in the inaugural AFC Champions League competition in 2003. BEC-Tero Sasana Football Club ...

. On 16 May 2009, Yangon United defeated Zeya Shwe Myay 4–0 in the league's second ever match to open the MNL Cup 2009. The club finished in second place in group play with 16 points. Yangon United lost to Yadanarbon in the final on

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

after a 2–2 draw. During the 2010 season, Yangon United built an artificial turf football pitch and gymnasium. In 2010, Yangon United built their training ground and gymnasium. Yangon United Gymnasium is the first gym among the

clubs.

Myanmar National League three-peat and AFC Cup debut (2011–2013)

In 2011, Yangon United won their first ever

title and also became the champions of the 2011 General Aung San Shield. This is the first time in Myanmar football history that a club has won both the league title and the cup. The following year in 2012, Yangon United appointed Bulgarian coach, Ivan Kolev for the 2012 season in which he helped the club to won their second consecutive Myanmar National League title and qualified for the

2013 AFC Cup The 2013 AFC Cup was the tenth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. In an all-Kuwait final, defending champions Al-Kuwait defeated Al- ...

. In 2013, Yangon United signed with Grand Sport as their main kit supplier. Yangon United make their debut in the 2013 AFC Cup being placed Group F with Maldives league champions,

New Radiant SC New Radiant Sports Club is a Maldivian professional football club based in Henveiru – Malé, Maldives. The club was founded on 19 August 1979 by Ahmed Waheed and his friend Ahammadhanik. New Radiant has won all domestic competitions bein ...

, Hong Kong club, Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei and Indonesian cup winners,

Persibo Bojonegoro Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bojonegoro () commonly known and abbreviated as Persibo, is an Indonesian professional football club in Bojonegoro, East Java. They compete in the Liga 2, the second tier of Indonesian football, after promotion fro ...

. The Lions put up a fiery display in the tournament winning five games and only losing once thus finishing the group stage as runners-up with 3 goals difference away from group leaders, New Radiant which see them both through to the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

for the first time in the club history. Yangon United than travelled to India to face

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

on 15 May 2013 at their home ground,

Salt Lake Stadium The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after S ...

which unfortunately saw the club losing 5–1 thus exiting out from the tournament. However, on the bright side, Ivan Kolev guided the club to retained their league title in which they won their third consecutive

title. Yangon United again qualified for the

2014 AFC Cup The 2014 AFC Cup was the 11th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait were the two-time defending champions, but were eliminat ...

where they faced Vietnamese cup winners, Vissai Ninh Bình, Hong Kong league champions,

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

and Malaysian club,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

. The club performed magnificently in the tournament as they went on to finished as group runners-up winning 3 times and losing 3 games in which the club qualified for the

tie against Indonesian club,

Persipura Jayapura Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura, or Persipura, is an Indonesia, Indonesian professional association football, football club based in Jayapura, Papua. The club was founded in 1963 and currently competes in the Liga 2 (Indonesia), Liga 2 ...

in which they suffered their heaviest defeat in their history losing 9–2 at the

Mandala Stadium Mandala Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Jayapura, Papua (province), Papua, Indonesia. Founded in 1950 as Dock V Field, It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches. It is the home stadium of one of the biggest and ...

. The 2014 season saw the club finishing 2nd in the league, 4 points behind champions, Yadanarbon which saw their three consecutive league title streaks come to an end. However, the club managed to get hold of the league title in the 2015 season winning their fourth league title in the club history and also seeing them qualified to the 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off where they faced Thailand club,

Chonburi Chonburi (, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and, as part of the district Mueang Chonburi District, Mueang Chonburi, the List of municipalities in Thailand, seventh-largest city in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Ba ...

losing 3–2 in extra time. In 2018, Yangon United won their fifth league title finishing as champions with 1 point ahead of league rivals, Shan United. The club winning the league as champions saw them qualified for the

2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs The 2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 5 to 19 February 2019. A total of 27 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League. Teams The foll ...

facing against Philippines club, Ceres–Negros which The Lions won the match 2–1 progressing on to the next stage to face Thailand club, Chiangrai United losing 3–1 in the process thus exiting from the qualifying play-off and being dropped to the

2019 AFC Cup The 2019 AFC Cup was the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Al-Ahed from Lebanon won the title for the first time, defeating April 25 from North Korea in ...

. Yangon United would go on and dominate for long periods, until 2019, when they gave up the trophy t domestic rivals, Shan United where Yangon United ended up with an unconvincing

2020 Myanmar National League The 2020 Myanmar National League is the 11th season of the Myanmar National League, the top Myanmar professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2009. It is also known as MPT Myanmar National League due to the spon ...

finishing 4th. Yangon United also participated in the

2020 AFC Cup The 2020 AFC Cup was an abandoned season of the AFC Cup which was the 17th edition of the competition, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was suspended due to the COVID- ...

where they would go on to draw 2–2 against Vietnamese side

Hồ Chí Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

on 11 February. In the next match against Laotian side

Lao Toyota Football Club Chanthabouly, also known as FC Chanthabouly, previously known as Lao Toyota Football Club for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football club based in Vientiane, Laos, currently competing in the Lao League 2. The club has won ...

, Yangon United went on to collect their first three points in a 3–2 win on 25 February. In their third fixtures against Singaporean side

Hougang United Hougang United Football Club is a professional football club based in Hougang, Singapore. The club competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singaporean football. Founded in 1998 as Marine Castle United, the club changed its ...

on 10 March,

Than Paing Than Paing (; born 6 December 1996) is a Burmese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Kanchanaburi Power in Thai League 2 and the Myanmar national team. He scored the only goal in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship quarter-final tha ...

break the deadlock in the 81th minute scoring the only goal in the match. However, the AFC Cup got cancelled throughout the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In the

2022 Myanmar National League The 2022 Myanmar National League season was the 13th edition of the Myanmar National League, the highest domestic league in the country for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2009, also known as MPT Myanmar National League du ...

season, they finished second place behind Shan United. Their top scorer was

Valci Júnior Valci Teixeira Júnior, more commonly known as Valci Júnior, is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who plays as a striker. He scored on his Yangon United debut against GFA within the first twelve minutes, and remains as the only foreign sign ...

who scored 8 goals in that season.

Kits and sponsors

Title sponsors

Stadium

Yangon United have been using the

Thuwunna Stadium The Thuwunna Youth Training Center Stadium (), simply known as the Thuwunna Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Yangon, Myanmar. It is the venue of choice for most national and international Association football, football and track and ...

ever since their establishment as a professional football club in 2009. Thuwunna Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

located in

which it was constructed with the help from the Japanese government. When the stadium was completed in 1985 it had a capacity of up to 50,000 people. In 2013, the stadium underwent a major renovation and was expanded to host

2013 Southeast Asian Games The 2013 Southeast Asian Games (, ), officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Naypyidaw, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 ...

football matches. Yangon United than moved out to their new build home ground, the Yangon United Sports Complex which is an

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

where it was much easier to maintain and low cost rents. The new stadium is 18 minutes drive away from their old Stadium but the club would often use their Thuwunna Stadium for

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

games to match the AFC stadium requirements.

Home Ground

(2009–2013) till using this as the club home ground but only for AFC Cup games* Yangon United Sports Complex (2013–''present'') yanmar National League fixtures only

Players

2025–26 First-team squad

Coaching staff

in Burmese

Player records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club in the league games (players in bold signifies current Yangon United F.C. player).

Continental record

All results (home and away) list Yangon United's goal tally first.

Seasons statistics

Domestic

Honours

League

** Champions (5):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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 ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

** Runners-up (6):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, 2024–25

Cup

** Winners (2):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

** Runners-up (2):

* MFF Cup ** Winners (1): 2011 *

** Winners (3): 2013,

** Runners-up (3): 2012, 2014,

* MNL League Cup ** Runners-up (2):

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Youth competitions

* MNL Reserve League ** Champion (2): 2009, 2010 * MNL U-21 Youth League ** Champion (3): 2012, 2014, 2015 ** Third place (1): 2019 * MNL U-20 Youth League ** Runners-up (1):

* MNL U-19 Youth League ** Champion (1):

** 2nd Runners-up (1):

International competitions

**Zonal Semi-final (1): 2018 **Round of 16 (2): 2013, 2014

References

External links

Yangon United F.C.
on Soccerway {{Myanmar National League Football clubs in Myanmar Association football clubs established in 2009 Myanmar National League clubs 2009 establishments in Myanmar