Myanmar National League
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| Country |  Myanmar |
|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded | March 4, 2009 |
| First season | 2009 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | MNL-2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Myanmar National League Cup MFF Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Cup |
| Current champions | Yangon United (2012) |
| Most championships | Yadanabon ( 2 titles ) Yangon United ( 2 titles ) |
| Website | www.myanmarnationalleague.com |
 2013 Myanmar National League |
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The Myanmar National League (Burmese: မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; 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 professional clubs representing different regions across the nation.[1] On 16 May 2009, the league launched its inaugural two-month tournament, Myanmar National League Cup 2009 in preparation for the first full season in 2010.[2] Despite its national ambitions, the league held the MNL Cup 2009 matches in the country's two main stadiums in Yangon due to lack of adequate facilities elsewhere. On 5 July 2009, Yadanabon FC defeated Yangon United FC in the MNL Cup final to become the first-ever MNL Champion.
The league has added three clubs for the 2010 season[3] and one more club joined for the 2011 season, bringing the total to twelve clubs.[4] Two more clubs representing Chin and Shan States will participate in MNL season starting in January 2012.[5]
Promotion and relegation will be added by the 2014 season as the MNL looks to expand once again.[6]
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History [edit]
Professional football competition in Myanmar has existed only in a limited form. The All premier leagues up to this point are made up of Yangon-based football clubs, most of which are outfits of government Ministries. It was only after 1996, when the Premier League (Burmese: ပထမတန်း) was relaunched as Myanmar Premier League that non-government clubs were invited to join the league. Still, the league was based only in Yangon, and never caught the imagination of Burmese football fans who follow European football with near religious fervor.
The Myanmar Football Federation sought approval from the government to launch a nationwide league in February 2008, and finally received permission to set up private clubs in December 2008. Each club will be permitted to sign at most five foreign players and one foreign coach. The government has granted each club tax exemptions for an initial three-year period, while each club owner must provide a minimum of K200 million (approximately US$200,000) for initial investment. It is expected that the annual operating cost for each club will be about K500 million (US$500,000).[1] The investment apparently covers costs such as salaries, transportation and equipment, but does not include the clubs stadiums, which are all nationalized.[7]
Official logo [edit]
-
2009-present
Myanmar National League
Champions [edit]
For Burmese champions before 2009, see Myanmar Premier League.
| Myanmar National League Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Club | ||
| 2009 | Yadanabon | ||
| Myanmar National League | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Club | ||
| 2009/10 | Yadanabon[8] | ||
| 2010 | Yadanabon | ||
| 2011 | Yangon United | ||
| 2012 | Yangon United | ||
Clubs (2013) [edit]
The league started out with eight clubs but has expanded to eleven clubs, starting in the 2010 MNL season. One more club, Rakhapura United joined MNL in the 2011 MNL season making it twelve clubs. Two more teams Chin United and Mawyawadi FC joined in 2012 season making a total of 14 clubs competing for the championship. The league was reduced back to twelve teams for the 2013 season.
| Club | Stadium | Best finish | # Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayeyawady United (formerly Delta United) |
Kyaut Tie Stadium | 2nd | |
| Hantharwady United (formerly Oakthar United) |
Bogyoke Aung San Stadium | 5th | |
| Kanbawza | Kanbawza Stadium | 2nd | |
| Magway | Magway Stadium | 3rd | |
| Manaw Myay | Swomprabom Stadium | 8th | |
| Naypyidaw | Paung Loung Stadium | 7th | |
| Rakhine United (formerly Rakhapura United) |
Waytharli Yinpyin Stadium | 10th | |
| Southern Myanmar United | Yamanya Stadium | 7th | |
| Yadanabon | Ba Htoo Stadium | 1st | 2 |
| Yangon United | Yangon United Sport Complex | 1st | 2 |
| Zeya Shwe Myay | Monywa Stadium | 2nd | |
| Zwegabin United | Hpa-An Stadium | 11th |
Topscorers [edit]
| Year | Best scorers | Team | Goals | |
| 2009 | |
Yan Paing | Yadanarbon | 7 |
| 2009–10 | |
Soe Min Oo | Kanbawza | 12 |
| 2010 |  |
Jean-Roger Lappé-Lappé | Hantharwady United | 20 |
| 2011 |  |
Charles Obi | Yangon united | 18 |
| 2012 |  |
Saša Ranković | Zeya Shwe Myay | 20 |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Han Oo Khin (March 9–15, 2009). "New era for football" ([dead link]). The Myanmar Times.
- ^ Han Oo Khin (March 30-April 5, 2009). "MFF announces May domestic cup competition" ([dead link]). The Myanmar Times.
- ^ "MNL season opens in style". Myanmar Times. 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "MNL expands ahead of 2011 season launch". Myanmar Times. January 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "၂၀၁၂ ၿပိဳင္ပြဲတြင္ ခ်င္းကိုယ္စားျပဳ အသင္းတစ္သင္း ပါ၀င္ ယွဥ္ၿပိဳင္မည္". Soccer Myanmar. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "MNL TO INTRODUCE PROMOTION-RELEGATION SYSTEM BY 2014". ASEAN Football. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Min Lwin (2009-04-20). "Burmese Soccer League an Election Ploy?". The Irrawaddy.
- ^ "Yadanarbon retains MNL title". Myanmar Times. January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
External links [edit]
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