The Malaysia Super League (MSL) was introduced for the first time in 2004. It replaced the M-League as the top-most tier for professional Malaysian football clubs.
The season kicked off on February 14, 2004. Pahang FA dominated the season and ended up winning the title by a wide margin and this was down to their efforts in securing the services of the nation's top players prior to the start of the new season. Pahang FA's Indra Putra Mahayuddin was the season's top goalscorer with 15 goals. He remains, until this day, the last Malaysian to win that accolade.
The highest scoring match of the season was Perlis FA 6-2 defeat of Kedah FA on July 31, 2004.
A plus point was the surprisingly strong finish of club side Public Bank FC. At this time, the Football Association of Malaysia were trying to promote clubs as the future of Malaysian football.
The end of the season was marred by turmoil after Public Bank FC announced it would pulled out from the League, having been relegated. The team was eventually banned from all FAM competitions.[1]
The 2005–06 season of the Malaysia Super League was the third since its inception. It kicked off on December 3, 2005. Negeri Sembilan FA emerged champions with one match to spare. They garnered 40 points from 21 matches and won the title despite scoring less goals than all the other teams in the league except Pahang FA, who finished second from bottom. With this title, they finally erased the painful memory of losing the 1996 M-League crown having topped the table for most of that season.
Their nearest rivals were Melaka TMFC with 33 points. Having been in the title contention for most parts of the season, they were the best positioned club side in MSL history after Public Bank FC in 2004.
Perak FA's Keita Mandjou was the season's top scorer with 17 goals. Three matches, including Selangor FA's 6-1 hammering at the hands of Perlis FA, featured seven goals, and these were the season's highest scoring matches.
As a result of the Football Association of Malaysia's decision to expand the league to 14 teams, the relegation playoffs were held on June 18, 2006. Six of the league's 14 places were up for grabs in this competition.
Pahang FA and Selangor FA qualified for this competition by virtue of being the lowest placed Super League teams. Top teams from the Malaysia Premier League also qualified for this competition (except for Kedah FA and Malacca FA, who were automatically promoted by virtue of being Premier League Champions).
The 2006–07 season of the Malaysia Super League is the fourth edition of the competition since its inception. It kicked off on December 16, 2006.
The 2007 season is also the first season played with 13 teams (previous versions had only eight). The FAM had originally planned for a 14-team league, but this was ruined with the failure of Selangor MPPJ's failure to register at the start of the season.
The 2007–08 season of the Malaysia Super League is the 5th edition since its inception. It was kicked off on November 18, 2007. The 2008 season is also the second season played with 13 teams. The league format was criticize by FIFA panel and the FAM took the action by changing the league format starting on 2009 season.
The 2007–08 season saw Kedah FA clinch their second Super League title with Marlon Alex James became the topscorer with 23 goals.
The 2010 Super League Malaysia was the 7th season of the highest Malaysianfootball league since its inception in 2004. Fourteen teams participated in the league, eleven state teams and three club teams, with Selangor FA as the defending champions. The season began on 9 January 2010 and ended on 3 August 2010. Selangor defended their title.
The 2011 Malaysia Super League (also known as Astro Liga Super Malaysia 2011 in Malay and the Astro Super League Malaysia due to the sponsorship from Astro) is the 8th season of the highest Malaysianfootball league since its inception in 2004. Fourteen teams participated in the league, eleven state teams and three club teams, with Selangor FA as the defending champions. The season began on 29 January 2011 and will conclude on 30 July 2011.
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: FIFA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
The 2012 Malaysia Super League (also known as Astro Liga Super Malaysia 2012 in Malay and the Astro Super League Malaysia due to the sponsorship from Astro) is the 9th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Fourteen teams participated in the league. The season began on 10 January 2012 and will conclude on 14 July 2012.
The 2013 Malaysia Super League (also known as Astro Liga Super Malaysia 2013 in Malay and the Astro Super League Malaysia due to the sponsorship from Astro) is the 10th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 8 January 2013 and will conclude on 6 July 2013.
The 2014 Malaysia Super League (also known as Astro Liga Super Malaysia 2014 in Malay and the Astro Super League Malaysia due to the sponsorship from Astro) is the 11th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 17 January 2014 and will conclude on 25 June 2014.
The 2015 Malaysia Super League is the 12th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 31 January 2015 and concluded on 22 August 2015.
Source: FAM Official Site, Astro Arena Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Since LionsXII, a side managed by the Football Association of Singapore and thus ineligible to represent Malaysia in continental competition, won the 2015 Piala FA, the 2015 Liga Super runners-up will be chosen to represent Malaysia in the AFC Cup.
^Pahang was docked 6 points due to involvement in the delay in the process of solving the problem of salary and compensation by the former imports season 2013, Mohamed Borji.
^LionsXII are not eligible for any AFC competition spots
The 2016 Malaysia Super League is the 13th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 13 February 2016 and concluded on 22 October 2016.
^Also qualification to AFC Cup group stage if failed to qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage.
^Since the winners of 2016 Piala FA, Johor Darul Ta'zim, currently qualify for AFC Champions League based on their league position, the spot awarded to the Piala FA winner (AFC Cup group stage) would be passed to the next best team in the table (in this case, the second-placed team).
^Kedah Football Association (Kedah FA) has been found guilty of putting the suspended player during the match against Pahang on August 3, 2016. Therefore, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been awarded 3 points for Pahang and Kedah sentenced deducted 3 points for the incident.
^Pahang has been awarded 3 points free from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) after offenses committed by the Football Association of Kedah (Kedah FA) putting the suspended player during the match against Pahang on August 3, 2016.
The 2017 Malaysia Super League is the 14th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 20 January 2017 and concluded on 28 October 2017.
^Felda United were relegated because they failed to renew their licence[8]
^Kedah as 2017 Malaysia FA Cup winners not eligible for AFC competition spots as they failed granted AFC club license.
^Kelantan and T–Team was sentenced to a six-point deduction immediately on offense failed to complete the registration process Malaysian League (M-League) 2017. Later, upon careful consideration of the aforementioned appeals, Football Malaysia have decided to lift the transfer ban and reduce the deduction of 6 points to 3 points for T-Team.
^Kelantan and T–Team was sentenced to a six-point deduction immediately on offense failed to complete the registration process Malaysian League (M-League) 2017. Later, upon careful consideration of the aforementioned appeals, Football Malaysia have decided to only reduce the deduction of 6 points to 3 points for Kelantan.
The 2018 Malaysia Super League is the 15th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 3 February 2018 and concluded on 29 July 2018.
The 2019 Malaysia Super League is the 16th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 1 February 2019 and concluded on 21 July 2019.
The 2020 Malaysia Super League is the 17th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 28 February 2020 and concluded on 31 October 2020.
On 13 March 2020, it was announced that the league would be suspended indefinitely, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 May, it was announced that the league would resume in September dependent on the situation at the time. Due to time constraints, the home-and-away format has been scrapped. Teams played each other only once, meaning that the champion of the Super League was decided after eleven rounds of matches.
Source: Malaysian Football League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated Notes:
The 2021 Malaysia Super League is the 18th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 5 March 2021 and concluded on 12 September 2021.
Source: Malaysian Football League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
^KL City qualified to 2022 AFC Cup as winner of 2021 Malaysia Cup
^Melaka have been docked three points based on the following of the decision from FAM (Football Association of Malaysia).[16]
The 2022 Malaysia Super League is the 19th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 4 March 2022 and concluded on 15 October 2022.
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: MFL Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. (D) Disqualified; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Petaling Jaya City withdrew from Liga Super before the start of 2023 season.
^ abMFL officially snubs Melaka United and Sarawak United club licensing approval, as both clubs have problem with overdue payments of staffs or players. This decision prevented both from playing in 2023 Malaysian Super League.[19][20] As of November 2nd, there are still no appeal from both clubs to continue the league structure by playing in M5 League.[21]
The 2023 Malaysia Super League is the 20th season of the highest Malaysian football league since its inception in 2004. Twelve teams participated in the league. The season began on 24 February 2023 and concluded on 17 December 2023.
It is the first season after restructuring, with 18 teams (instead of 12). However, MFL announced there will be only 16 teams as they rejected both Sarawak United and Melaka United due to a failed licensing appeal. The league shrunk to 15 teams after Petaling Jaya City officially withdrew due to the expansion and increased foreign player quota, which are diverted from the club's main vision. On 5 January 2023, UiTM officially withdrew due to the financial problems. The new season therefore has 14 teams, kicking off on 24 February.
Source: MFL Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. (C) Champions Notes:
^Since the winners of the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup (Johor Darul Ta'zim) qualified for Asian competition based on their league positions, the berths awarded to the 2nd-placed team in the league.