Penang F.C.

Penang FA

Club crest
Full name	Persatuan Bola Sepak Pulau Pinang (Football Association of Penang)
Nickname(s)	Harimau Kumbang (The Panther)
Founded	1920 (1920) (Unofficial) 1921 (1921) (Official)
Ground	City Stadium George Town, Penang
Capacity	20,000
President	Dato' Seri Nazir Ariff Munshir Ariff
Coach	Jacksen F. Tiago
League	Malaysia Super League
2015	Malaysia Premier League , 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Football Association of Penang (or simply known as Penang FA) is a Malaysian professional football club based in Georgetown that plays in the Malaysia Super League.

Unofficially founded in 1920, officially as Football Association of Penang in 1921, the club represent the Penang state in football competitions. The team has traditionallly worn a blue home kit.

They have a long-standing rivalry with Kedah, the two northern region teams collectively known as the Northern Region Derby.

The team play their home matches at the 20,000 capacity Bandaraya Stadium in Georgetown.

Penang established itself as a major force in Malaysian football between the 1950s to the 1970s. Domestically, Penang has won a record of 3 Division 1 titles, 4 Malaysia Cup titles, 5 Malaysia FAM League titles, 1 Malaysia FA Cup title and 1 Malaysia Charity Shield.

History

The club was founded in 1920 Unofficially, Official as Football Association of Penang in 1921 (Malay: Persatuan Bola Sepak Pulau Pinang). Penang FA is the second oldest football team in Malaysia. The team is based in the state of Penang in the north of Malaysia. Penang have consistently been a decent team throughout their history, producing players such as the country's first Olympian. Penang is the fifth most successful team in Malaysian football history with 14 champions.

Early years (1920–1950s)

On 21 October 1921, the club was founded. Almost all the big matches were played at Victoria Green, home of the Chinese Recreation Club. The team enter into the final of the Malaysia most prestigious football tournament, Malaysia Cup's final in 1934, but the team lost to Singapore FA with a heartbreaking score of 1–2. Penang enter into the final of the last edition of Malaysia Cup before World War II and they lost to the same opponent in 1934 with the same score. During the World War II, football competitions were stopped.

Glory days (1950s–1970s)

An era spanning the 1950s to the 1970s when Penang was among the top teams in inter-state football.

The 1950s saw Penang producing players such as the country's first Olympian, Yeap Cheng Eng, Yeang Kah Chong, Tan Swee Hock, Wong Kam Poh, Yap Hin Hean, Liew Fee Yuen, Lee Ah Loke, the Pang brothers and more. Since the early 1950s, Aziz Ahmad was Penang's top goal-getter in 1953 and 1954. He scored the winning goal when Penang defeated Singapore 3–2 in the 1953 Malaya Cup final in Ipoh. Penang won 3 Malaysia Cup champions (1953, 1954 and 1958) and 4 FAM Cup champions (1952, 1955, 1956 and 1957).

Some of the well-known FAP officials then were Loh Hoot Yeang, who was president for many years, A.S. Mohamad Mydin, Tan Cheng Hoe, Yaakob Syed and Haris Hussain.

Datuk David Choong was president in 1962 when Penang made the FAM Cup final, but lost 3–4 to Selangor in a pulsating contest on May 12 before a capacity crowd at the City Stadium.

In October 1963, Penang trounced Perlis 13–0 in a Malaysia Cup tie at the City Stadium.

Aziz took over as captain when Cheng Eng retired. The early 1960s also saw a glittering array of "stars".

By 1965, veterans such as Siang Teik and Aziz made way as Penang rebuilt. M. Kuppan took over as captain with Yeap Kim Hock, James Raju and Ibrahim Mydin the only other survivors.

For the first time, Penang also preferred the services of four Australians from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) which participated in the local league. They were John Leather, Clive Warren, Vic Probert and Alan Peacock.

The late 1960s saw the emergence of Aziz's nephews, the Abdullah brothers—Namat and Shaharuddin. At his peak, Shaharuddin was a prolific goal-getter.

Penang made the Malaysia Cup final in 1968 to face mighty Selangor but nobody expected it to be a massacre. Selangor romped home 8–1 in one of the most one-sided finals ever.

In 1974, Penang heroically knocked Singapore out in the semifinal to face northern rival Perak in the final. Namat Abdullah led Penang to a 2–1 victory in what was to be the state's last Malaysia Cup final victory. Penang stepped into the final of Malaysia Cup on 1977 as they lost the match to Singapore.

Stagnation (1980s–mid-1990s)

Football Association of Malaysia introduced the Malaysia First Division League in 1982. Penang was one of the founding members of the league. The first edition of the league saw Penang become the champion. In 1983, Penang was the first runner-up of the league. After that, the team faced stagnation until mid-1990s because failed to win any major trophy.

Resurgence (late 1990s–early 2000s)

The glory days came after the team faced the stagnation period for more than 15 years. Penang enter into the FA Cup final for the first time in the team history on 1997 and they lost to Selangor. After the disappointment, Penang won the 1998 Malaysia Super League. The team failed to defend the champion as they only manage to get runner-up on 1999. The 2000 FA Cup saw Penang lost to Terengganu after a nail-biting penalty shootouts. Penang was the runner-up of the top division league on 2000. After two consecutive years as the runner-up of Malaysia Super League, Penang become the champion of the league on 2001. Penang FA historically won the FA Cup for the first time on 2002 thanks to the goal scored by Gustavo Romero on the 65 minutes. Penang first attempt into the Charity Shield saw the team won the trophy after they beat Selangor.

Walking downhill and financial crisis (2003–2009)

Although the team got a good start by winning the Charity Shield, but the team only finished mid table in the league and in round two of the FA Cup. Penang finished third in the group stage of the Malaysia Cup and failed to qualify for the second round. In 2004, Penang ranked fifth out of 8 in the league and eliminated in the second round of FA Cup. Yunus Alif's boys won the group stage of Malaysia Cup but lost in second round. The league performance in 2006 is worse than 2005 as the team only ranked sixth. Penang won the first round of FA Cup, but they faild to qualify for the third round. They top the group of Malaysia Cup for two consecutive years but still can't advanced for the third round after losing the second round matches. The next season saw Penang ranked sixth again in the league and lost the first round match of FA Cup. The team lost the quarter final matches of Malaysia Cup. In 2006–07 season of Malaysia Super League, the team ranked tenth throughout the league. Penang finished the journey of FA Cup in round one. Penang finished fifth out of six in the Malaysia Cup group stage. New coach, Mohd Bakar was appointed to replace Josef Herel in the 2007–08 season. The Panthers finished 12nd in the league, round two in FA Cup and last in the Malaysia Cup group stage. For the same season until 2012, the club was facing a critical financial condition. The state’s footballers had not been paid for four months, and called on the current administration to honour the contracts signed with players. In 2009, Penang FA finished third from the last in the top division league. Penang was knocked out from the FA Cup in round two for two consecutive years. Penang was eliminated from the Malaysia Cup tournament after finished third in the group stage.

Darkest period (2010–2012)

In 2010, the darkest period ever in the team history has came. Reduan Abdullah's squad had only collected 10 points and finished at the bottom of the league. Penang was relegated from the top flight after 18 consecutive spells in the top flight of Malaysian football. The club continued to decline and in 2011 the worst fears were reached when they were relegated to FAM League after the team struggled in the second division with only collected 4 points after 22 matches. Janos Krecska was appointed as coach in 2012. The team finished mid table in the third tier end of the year.

The comeback (2013–2015)

Penang FA's legend, Merzagua Abderrazak take over as the club head coach in 2013. The aim of the club which was to promote to Premier League achieved successfully under the tactician. Penang won a silverware after an 11 years long wait. However, they may have to leave their talismanic Moroccan coach Merzagua Abderrazzak because he needs to obtain an A-level coaching licence in his home country to be able to continue coaching.

Due to the problem, the club appointed K. Devan as the new head coach. Under his guidance Penang claimed the third spot of the Premier League and qualified into Malaysia Cup after absent for four years. Penang finished last place in the group stage with four points after six matches. K. Devan's contract has not renewed and he was signed by Negeri Sembilan.

Jacksen F. Tiago took over K. Devan as the head coach of Penang for the next season. His skills and strategies to be somehow a success to the squad when showing good performance facing with major teams in the pre-season match; Sime Darby, Johor Darul Takzim, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan. The most notable is the match versus Selangor and Kelantan which ends with the score of 2–0 favouring the home team. Penang also stepped into the quarter final of FA Cup after 13 years. The Panthers claimed a ticket to the top flight after a dramatic finish in the 2015 league campaign.

In 2015, Penang FA win the title second runner up on Malaysian Premier League after so much struggle on 2014. Penang claimed a ticket to Malaysian first division league, Malaysian Super League 2016.

Crest and colours

Crest

Since the club's foundation in 1921, the club have had only one main crest. The backgrounds colours of the club crest are blue and white.

File:Penang FA.svg

The club logo since 1921

Colours

Penang FA's traditional home colours are sky blue and yellow which are taken from the colours of the Penang state flag. Ultramarine have also been used severally. Traditional away kit colours have been either yellow or white. However, in recent years several different colours have been used, such as: green, pink and orange.

Support

Penang's traditional fanbase comes from all over the Georgetown area including the other suburbs such as Jelutong, Air Itam, Tanjung Bungah, Bayan Lepas and even from the main land. Penang's hardcore supporters are the so-called Ultras Panthers supporters, they also known as UP11. Ultras Panthers was founded in 2011. There are also numerous supporters clubs such as Penang FA Fan Club, Haria Penang 69, Nindia Bandaraya, Brigade 07 and more in the state. Penang FA has an average gate of 6660 in the 2015 competitive campaign. Sometimes, tourists from foreign countries also attended the matches.

At matches, Penang fans sing chants such as "Haria Penang Haria", "Sehati Sejiwa" and more. Fans will also throw their toilet rolls to the pitch before the match begins. The supporters also sing the state anthem "Untuk Negeri Kita".

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt partner
2000	Umbro	Pensonic
2001–2003		Toray Pen-Group
2004–2005
2006–2007	Line 7	E&O
2008–2009	Specs	No Sponsor
2010	Joma
2011	Eutag
2012	Joma	Allianz University College of Medical Science
2013		Media Hiburan
2014	Umbro	Aspen Group
2015		PBAPP

Grounds

Home ground

Main articles: City Stadium (Penang) and Penang State Stadium

Stadium Bandar Raya Pulau Pinang
Penang City Stadium

Former names	Penang Island National Stadium (1 October 1945-8 August 2003)
Location	George Town Penang Malaysia
Owner	Penang State Government
Operator	Penang Island Municipal Council
Capacity	20,000
Surface	Grass pitch Track
Construction
Broke ground	1 October 1945
Built	1 June 1948
Opened	1 September 1956
Renovated	1 July 1953
Expanded	1 May 1950
Architect	British Commonwealth & Government

Up to the late 1950s, almost all the big matches were played at Victoria Green, home of the Chinese Recreation Club, before the City Stadium was built in 1956.

The Bandaraya Stadium is the current home stadium of Penang FA. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 people. It was built in 1957, the oldest stadium in Malaysia and initially aims to provide a venue for sports activities from Georgetown, especially as a football pitch.

Previously, Penang FA also use Penang State Stadium in Batu Kawan from 2000 to 2011.

Training ground

The USM Athletics Stadium is the training ground of Penang FA located in the campus of University of Science, Malaysia in Penang. The complex consists of several grass pitches. The stadium is also the home ground for the reserve team.

Records and statistics

Shukor Salleh is the player who played for the club for the longest time which is 20 years. He had only played for Penang in his career. He won the National Sportsman award in 1977.

Penang are joint equal with Pahang for having won a total of 14 Malaysian football titles.

Penang are the team who won first inaugural Malaysia League 1982 and FAM Cup 1952.

The club's highest ever league finish was 1st in the Super League in 1982, 1998 and 2001. Their lowest ever league finish was 6th in the 2012 FAM League.

Penang biggest win in Malaysia Cup final was 3-0 against Singapore FA in 1954. Penang heaviest lost in Malaysia Cup final was 1-8 against Selangor FA in 1968.

Asian record

Competition	Round	Result
1998–99 Asian Club Championship	1st Round	Withdrew 0

Competition	Round	Result
2001–02 Asian Club Championship	1st Round	Withdrew 1

⁰ due to economic trouble in the country.
¹ due to club financial problem.

Club top scorer (2002–2015)

• 2002 : Gustavo Romero (14 goals)
• 2003 : Gustavo Romero (11 goals)
• 2004 : Vyacheslav Melnikov (16 goals)
• 2005 : Jose Ramirez Barreto (15 goals)
• 2006: Mario Cesar da Silva & Ján Šafranko (4 goals)
• 2007: Mohd Farizal Rozali (8 goals)
• 2008: Mohd Azrul Ahmad (8 goals)
• 2009: Failee Ghazli (7 goals)
• 2010: Failee Ghazli (5 goals)
• 2011: Arsyah Ayub, Idzwan Salim & Khairul Azri (2 goals)
• 2013 : Norizam Salaman (12 goals)
• 2014 : Lee Kil-hoon (17 goals)
• 2015 : Mohd Faiz Subri (10 goals)

Finances and ownership

The club is owned by Football Association of Penang under the presidency of Dato' Seri Nazir Ariff Munshir Ariff. The association also runs the domestic league of the states. The club was owned by Eastern and Oriental from 2006 to 2007. Allianz University College of Medical Science was the owner and main sponsor for the club on 2012.

The sources of funds are mostly come from the state government. The club also has a variety of other sponsors and partners, which include Aspen Group, Penang Water Supply Corporation, Penang Development Corporation, Kwantus Design and Built, Kany Logistics and Tropicana Ivory . Umbro is the club's kit manufacturer since 2014.

Club officials

Board members

• President: Dato' Seri Nazir Ariff Munshir Ariff
• Deputy President: Laurence Loh
• Vice-president: Dato' Gary Nair
• General Secretary: Dato' Mohd Junid Mohd Noor
• Treasurer: Dato' Murly Manokharan
• Director of Finance and Marketing: Mohd Muzzaimy Mohd Moosa

Management

• Team Manager: Mohd Azizudin Mohd Shariff
• Assistant Manager 1: Mohd Nazim Ariff Nazir Ariff
• Assistant Manager 2: Katherisan a/l Letchumanan
• Admin Officer: Mohd Nazir Adanan
• Security Officer: Muhd Asyraf Mohamad Yusof
• Media Officer: Muhamad Dayne Azmin Forrest
• Medical Officer: Dr. Amar Pritpal Abdullah
• Liaison Officer: Aznan Yahaya

Coaching and technical staff

• Head Coach: Jacksen F. Tiago
• Assistant Coach 1: Amilton da Silva Oliveira
• Assistant Coach 2: Manzoor Azwira Abdul Wahid
• Fitness Coach: Leonardo Azevedo
• Goalkeeping Coach: Jose Alberto Silvestre Quitete
• Physiotherapist: Zulkifli Ahmad
• Physiotherapist: Mohd Isamuddin Mohd Ali
• Kit Man: Reza Irwan Khairuddin
• U21 Head Coach: S. Veloo
• U21 Assistant Coach: Zabidi Hassan
• U21 Goalkeeping Coach: Hisham Jainuddin
• U21 Fitness Coach: Mohd Faizal Sultan
• U21 Physio: Mohd Arif Baharudin
• U19 Head Coach: Noraffendi Taib

Players

Current Squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position
Goalkeepers
	Khairul Amri Salehuddin		GK
	Sani Anuar Kamsani		GK
	Muhd Hazrul Hafiz Zulkifly		GK
Defenders
	Mohd Fitri Omar		LB,LWB
	Reinaldo Lobo		CB, DM
5	Brent Griffiths		CB
	Mat Saiful Mohamad		LB,LWB
	Mohd Azrul Ahmad		RB, DM, RM, RW, ST
	Wan Rohaimi Wan Rahasdi		CB
16	Darwira Sazan		CB
	Mazlizam Mohamad		RB,LB
	Mohd Redzuan Suhaidi		CB, DM
	Dominic Tan Jun Jin		CB, DM
	Mafry Balang		DM, RB,LB,CB
Midfielders
	Mohd Zharif Hasna		CM
	Elias Sulaiman		AM, RW, LW
	Mohd Faizat Ghazli		AMRLC,ST
	Muhd Rafiuddin Rodin		LM,LW,LB
	Mohd Syukur Saidin		CM
	Muhamad Ikhmal Ibrahim		CM
	Mohd Redzuan Nawi		DM,CM, CB
	Matías Córdoba		AM, ST
	Mohd Syamer Kutty Abba		ML,AML,ST
Forwards
	Mohd Faiz Subri		CAM,LM, LW,ST
	Tadeu		ST
	Failee Ghazli		ST
	S. Kumaahran		CAM, ST
	Muhd Jafri Muhd Firdaus Chew		ST

Development squad

President's Cup squad (U21)

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	MF	MAS	S. Kathiravaan
4	DF	MAS	Abdul Qayyum Mohamed Jabrullah Khan
5	DF	MAS	Mohd Shafiq Safaruddin
6	DF	MAS	Aliff Arief
7	MF	MAS	Muhd Fakhrulrazi
8	DF	MAS	S. Cheevaanesvaran
9	FW	MAS	Mohd Al-Hafiz Harun
11	FW	MAS	Muhd Noor Syafiq
12	DF	MAS	Mohd Faiz Mokhtar
13	DF	MAS	Tang Seng Chia
14	MF	MAS	Amirul Syazani Roslan
15	DF	MAS	Mohd Nabil Fikri Zulkifli

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	MAS	Mohd Fareza Amar Khasim
17	DF	MAS	Tunku Noor Hidayat Tunku Ishak
18	DF	MAS	Muhd Muslim Kamaruddin
19	FW	MAS	J. Kaviarasan
20	MF	MAS	Mohd Ikhmal Ibrahim
21	MF	MAS	Lim Yong Sheng
22	GK	MAS	Mohammad Ikram Hamdan
23	MF	MAS	Muhammad Iqbal bin Muhammad
24	MF	MAS	Som Keat a/l Preseart
25	GK	MAS	Mohd Azrin Roslan
42	FW	MAS	Mohd Ramzee Othman
43	MF	MAS	V. Satheskumar
44	FW	MAS	Muhd Azrul Zulkifli
50	GK	MAS	Muhammad Rahimy Afiq Yaakob

Source:

Youth's Cup Squad (U19)

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	MAS	Mohammad Fathullah Daniel Mohd Rohan
2	DF	MAS	Mohd Ferdaus Mohd Fauzi
3	DF	MAS	Mohammad Asyraf Rosli
4	DF	MAS	Mohd Syahir Syazwan Sabri
5	DF	MAS	Mohd Tarmizi
6	MF	MAS	Mohammad Alif Aiman
7	MF	MAS	Muhd Huzaifah
8	MF	MAS
9	FW	MAS	Mohd Nazar
10	FW	MAS	Muhammad Faizudin Afiq Kassim
11	MF	MAS	Shahrin Che Hassan
12	MF	MAS	Mohd Faiz Akmal Zahrul Nizam
13	DF	MAS	Mohd Hanif Idris

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	MF	MAS	Muhammad Aizat Shaharuddin
15	MF	MAS	Muhammad Syahmi Syakir Salim
16	MF	MAS	Muhammad Azam Abdul Halim
17	DF	MAS	Vikneas a/l Ravichandran
18	DF	MAS	Magendran a/l Rajandran
19	MF	MAS	Muhammad Danish Afiq Mohd Desa
20	FW	MAS	Mohd Badrul Amin
21	FW	MAS	Muhammad Helmi Mat Razhi
22	GK	MAS	Muhamad Ariff Razali
23	MF	MAS	Muhammad Fitri Che Hassan
24	FW	MAS	Mohd Faisal Abdul Halim
25	GK	MAS	Muhammad Syafik Noricham

Source: Source:

Head Coaches

Years	Name	Achievement
1995-1996	Mohd Bakar
1997-1999	Moey Yoke Ham	1997 Malaysia FA Cup runner-up 1998 Division 1 champions 1999 Division 1 runner-up
2000–2003	Irfan Bakti Abu Salim	2000 Malaysia FA Cup runner up 2000 Division 1 runner up 2001 Division 1 champions 2002 Malaysia FA Cup champions 2003 Malaysia Charity Shield champions
2003–2004	Yunus Alif
2005	Norizan Bakar
2006–2007	Joseph Herel
2008	Mohd Bakar
2008–2009	S. Veloo
2010	Mohd Bakar
2010	Shukor Salleh
2010	Reduan Abdullah
2011	Robert Scully
2011	Shukor Salleh (caretaker)
2011	Ahmad Yusof
2012	Jánós Krécská
2013	Merzagua Abderrazak	2013 Malaysia FAM League champions
2014	K. Devan
2015–	Jacksen F. Tiago	2015 Malaysia Premier League runner-up

Honours

Domestic

Title	Winners	Runners-up
Division 1/Premier 1/Super League (3x)	*1982, 1998, 2001	1983, 1999, 2000 (3x)
Division 2/Premier 2/Premier League		1992, 2015 (2x)
Malaysia FAM Cup / League (5x)	*1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 2013	1961, 1962, 1968 (3x)
Malaysia Cup(4x)	1953, 1954, 1958, 1974	1934, 1941, 1950, 1952, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1977 (9x)
Malaysian FA Cup(1x)	2002	1997, 2000 (2x)
Malaysian Charity Shield (1x)	2003

(*inaugural winners)

Youth

Title	Winners	Runners-up
Malaysia President Cup (1x)	2004	2015

Other

Title	Winners	Runners-up
Aga Khan Gold Cup (1x)	1976

External links

• Penang FA Official Website