Sarawak United FC

This article is about the Sarawak United Football Club. For Sarawak Football Association, see Sarawak FA. For the political party, see Parti Sarawak Bersatu.

Sarawak United Football Club or officially Sarawak United FC is a Malaysian professional football club based in Sarawak. The club currently plays in the first-tier division in Malaysian football, the Malaysia Super League for the first time in their club history.

Sarawak United FC

Full name	Sarawak United Football Association
Nickname(s)	The Golden Hornbill
Short name	SUFC
Founded	1974; 49 years ago (1974) as PB Melayu Malaysia 2017; 6 years ago (2017) as PB Melayu Selangor 2018; 5 years ago (2018) as Selangor United 2020; 3 years ago (2020) as Sarawak United
Ground	Sarawak State Stadium
Capacity	28,000
League	Malaysia M3 League
2022	Malaysia Super League 11th of 12 (Relegated)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

History

Founded in 1974 as the Malaysia Malays' Football Association football team, the club changed its name to Selangor Malays' Football Association football team when competing in the 2017 Malaysia FAM League season.^[1] They were rebranded again as Selangor United for the 2018 Malaysia FAM Cup season.^[2] Unfortunately, Selangor United did not last long in the game as the team faced financial difficulties. In 2019, the club was bought over by the FAS and the new owners subsequently rebranded the club as Sarawak United.

With FAS buying and rebranding the team, the move was a win-win situation for FAS, because thanks to the move, FAS has made sure that a team representing the Malaysian state of Sarawak is playing in the 2020 Malaysia Premier League. All that happened after the main football team run by FAS to compete in the Malaysia Premier League at the time, known as the Sarawak FA state football team, were relegated to the Malaysian third-tier division, the Malaysia M3 League in 2019.^[3][4] In 2020, the Malaysia Premier League however saw the participation of two Sarawak-based football clubs with Kuching City being promoted to the Malaysia Premier League that year.

2016 season

• Malaysia Malays' Football Association (MMFA) entered the Malaysian football league competition in 2016 season.^[5]
• The team is managed by the Selangor Malays' Football Association, an affiliate of Malaysia Malays' Football Association. The team finished 2016 season in seventh place.

2017 season

• Starting from 2017 season, the team has been rebranded to Selangor Malays' Football Association as an effort to bring in local area support.^[1] The club has managed advanced to second round of 2017 Malaysia FA Cup after defeating SAMB.^[6][7]
• However, they were knocked out from the tournament after a defeat of 0-3 against Perak.^[8]

2018 season

• They were re-branded again as Selangor United in 2018.^[2] The club succeeded in winning the semi-final in the knock-out stage of the 2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, and were promoted to Premier League as finalists, even though they were beaten in the final 0-2 by Terengganu City.

2019 season

• The club made their debut into professional football for the 2019 Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. They finished 9th in the league by the end of the season.
• In the December 2019, the club were bought over by the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) after the Selangor Malays Football Association stop receiving fund from the Selangor State government and were forced to get rid of the team.^[9]

New Era

2020 season

Main article: 2020 Sarawak United FC season

The 2020 season was Sarawak United's 1st year in their history and also first season in the Malaysia Premier League. Along with the league, the club also participated in the Malaysia FA Cup but was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. On 13 March, it was announced that the 2020 Malaysia Premier 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 for the Premier League has been scrapped. Teams played each other only once. Sarawak United FC finished their 2020 Malaysia Premier League campaign with 3 Win, 2 Draw and 6 Loss after 11 match.

2021 season

Main article: 2021 Sarawak United FC season

 

Sarawak United FC Current 2021 Season Photo by Facebook Page Sarawak Team

For the 2021 season the club was strengthened with several well -known players. Among them are Malaysian National player, Norshahrul Idlan and Australian National player, Taylor Regan. The club seen as strong in every position and was selected as the team of choice to be a Champion of 2021 Malaysia Premier League. Sarawak United started the 2021 Malaysia Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Kelantan United. For the 2021 season, Sarawak United team is also the most difficult team to beat by the opposing team. Sarawak United's fort is controlled by an experienced Goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee which is not easy to beat. Imported striker from Nigeria, Uche Agba , on the other hand, emerged as the top scorer for Sarawak United.

After 17 matches in the Malaysian Premier League 2021 have been played, Sarawak United was officially promoted and eligible to play in the highest tier of the Malaysian Football League, the 2022 Malaysia Super League.

Crest and colours

Since the club's foundation in 1974, the club have had five main crests. The first, adopted when the team was founded, its backgrounds colours of the club crest were green and red. For the 2021 Malaysia Premier League season, the team's outfield players wear black shirts, red shorts and red socks for the club's home matches.

Crest

Sarawak United uses a crest which was seen as a modified version of the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) crest for the 2020 Malaysia Premier League season. However, in 2021, Sarawak United changed the team's crest to the current one which was more reflective of the ethnic characteristics of Sarawak although the Golden Hornbill remains the team's symbol of choice.

•  

  Malaysia Malays' Football Association crest; first logo (1946–2016)

•  

  Selangor Malays' Football Association crest; second logo (2017)

•  

  Selangor United crest; third logo (2018)

•  

  Sarawak United crest in 2021

Kit manufacturers

Year(s)	Manufacturer
2020–	Joma

Stadium and locations

Location	Stadium	Capacity	Year
Kuching	State Stadium	26,000	1989
Kuching	Sarawak Stadium	40,000	1997

 

Sarawak Stadium and Sarawak State Stadium are located adjacent to each other.

Players

First-team Squad

As of January 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 5 DF   MAS Rahman Ismawi 6 MF   MAS Norman Angkun 11 MF   MAS Ashri Chuchu 12 DF   MAS Daryl Ian Raja 18 FW   MAS Alphonsus Joseph

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF   MAS Athur Atong 25 GK   MAS Aquila Abdul Rahman 33 DF   MAS Abbel Akwensivie 44 MF   MAS Dzul Ikram 60 GK   MAS Awang Nur Amirul

Season-by-season records

Club records (Since 2020 Era)

Note:

• Pld = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, F = Goals for, A = Goals against, D = Goal difference, Pts= Points, Pos = Position

  1st or Champions   2nd or Runner-up   3rd place   Promotion   Relegation

Season	League										Cup				Asia
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	D	Pts	Pos	Charity	Malaysia	Challenge	FA	Competition	Result
2020	Malaysia Premier League	11	3	2	6	14	16	-2	11	10th	–	Cancelled	–	Cancelled	–
2021	Malaysia Premier League	20	11	5	4	37	14	23	38	2nd	–	Quarter-Final	–	Cancelled	–
2022	Malaysia Super League	22	5	2	15	19	50	-31	17	11th	–	Round of 16	–	Second Round (Best Of 16)	–	–

Club top scorer (since 2020 era)

Season	Player	Goals
2020	Patrick Wleh	5
2021	Uche Agba	19
2022	Boris Kok	4

Foreign players (Since 2020 Era)

Season	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5
2020 Malaysia Premier League	Demerson	Gabriel Guerra	Patrick Wleh	Milad Zanidpour	Nicolás Marotta
2021 Malaysia Premier League	Taylor Regan	Sandro	Lee Chang-hoon	Uche Agba
2022 Malaysia Super League	Gonzalo Soto	Francis Koné	Lee Chang-hoon	Uche Agba	Boris Kok

Managers/Head Coach

Managers/Head Coach (Since 2020 Era)

Name	From	To	Honours
Juan Carlos Magro	December 2019	March 2020	—
E. Elavarasan	March 2020	February 2022	2021 Malaysia Premier League runner-up
B.Sathianathan (Interim)	March 2022	July 2022	—
S. Balachandran	July 2022	Present	—

Development squads

As of 10 June 2020

U21 squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1	Aquila Abdul Rhaman		GK	2000
18	Anthony Ibong Bauk		GK	27/3/01
19	Mohd Shahyudin Mohd Salehin		GK	19/4/00
23	Khairul Lukman Hakim Hairudin		GK	2000
Defenders
2	Sebatian Darvin Jemat		RB, RWB	2000
3	Porni Sanat		LB, LWB	2000
5	Muhammad Fareez Aiman Omar Ali		CB	2000
22	Darius Maidonny Tingang		CB	2000
24	Asnawi Ishak		RB, LWB	2000
25	Dicky Vester Ngindang		LB, LWB	2000
26	Joehansen Ambas Ambun		CB	2001
29	Gibson Billy		CB	13/1/00
30	Abbel Akwensivie		CB	2000
Midfielders
4	Iskandar Shah Mohd Jamil Kilin		CM	2000
6	Abang Azri Fikri Abang Saufee		DM/CM	2000
8	Muhammad Yusry Haziq Idris		RW/RM	18/1/02
12	Norman Angkun		LW/LM	2001
15	Abang Ahmad Eizhan Abang Kassim		CM	2000
16	Aiman Joanny		LW/LM	2001
17	Hazroy Abdullah		AM/CM	2000
20	Hidayathullah Hasli		RW/RM	2000
27	Rosziele Roba		CM	2000
Forwards
7	Mohd Firdaus Sajali		ST	2000
9	Muhammad Dzul Ikram Rajeli		ST	2000
10	Alphonsus Joseph Willie		ST	2000
11	Hamirul Haidi Haida		ST/LW	2000
13	Muhammad Faris Abdul Manaf		ST	5/11/99
21	Mohd Amahrol Haili		ST	2000

Source:^[10]

U19 squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1	Bellynie Allister Balawan		GK	2001
22	Awang Nur Amirul Taqwa Awang Nor Azeman		GK	2002
25	Elvison Pedari		GK	2001
30	Vincent Sigar Yahaya		GK	2002
Defenders
2	Steve Selutan Sakai		RB/RWB	23/1/01
3	Glady Ester George		LB/LWB	2002
4	Nail As'ad Nadzar		CB	2002
5	Andrye Joe Austine		CB	2001
7	Albertine Indera		LB, LWB	2001
14	Mirza Aiman Salleh		CB	2002
15	Gabriel Batistuta Durling		CB	2001
16	Nicky Flockhart Sempuh		RB, RWB	2002
23	Nasrull Zikri Nadzar		LB, LWB	2001
Midfielders
8	Gideon Apoi Ganang		CM	2002
9	Mohd Hazazi Harsi		LW/LM	2002
10	Muhammad Fahmi Aimanuddin Taip		AM/CM	2002
13	Shane Thomas Baru		RW/RM	2001
18	Samuel Kuta Antas		LW/LM	2002
19	David Sepetok		CM	17/5/02
28	Chong Aik King		RW/RM	2001
29	Robie Uvat Robert		CM	2002
Forwards
6	Azkaharridhi Farhan Hasnan		ST	2001
11	Hilary Henry		ST	2002
17	Hazrey Abdullah		ST	2002
20	Calvin Chong Jen Yek		ST	2002
21	Clement Ajai Michael Sap		ST	2001
24	Harith Danielle Abdullah		ST	2002
27	Hudson Osa		ST	2002

Source:^[11]

Management team

Club personnel

Position	Name
President	Dato' Posa Majais
Manager
Assistant Manager
Head Coach
Assistant Coach
Fitness Coach	Edward Jamid Junting
Team Doctor	Mohd Asri Mohd Rais
Goalkeeper Coach	Omar Salim
	Zailani Abu Bakar
Physiotherapist	Khairul Nizam Suhaimi
	Mohd Safuan Abdul Halim
U21 Manager	Phillip Jabu
U21 Assistant Manager	Abdilah Majid
U21 Head Coach	Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Yunus
U21 Assistant Coach	Faroukh Othman
U21 Fitness Coach	Jefry Lana
U21 Goalkeeper Coach	Jahar Nor
U21 Physiotherapist	Carlvin Stakeith Gary
U19 Manager	Arbi Lai
U19 Assistant Manager	Sonei Sekan
U19 Head Coach	David Usop
U19 Assistant Coach	Pengiran Bala
U19 Coach	Hamri Ali
	Mohamad Ishya Sabu
	Ismail Lumut
U19 Fitness Coach	Fadillah Ibrahim
U19 Goalkeeper Coach	Saller Ampulig
U19 Physiotherapist	Valentino Joummy

Honours

Domestic

League

• Malaysia FAM League

Runners-up (1): 2018

• Malaysia Premier League

Runners-up (1): 2021

References

1. "Keputusan Undian Piala FAM dan Belia 2017". FAM.org.my.
2. "Wajah baru inspiraai Selangor United capai kejayaan". SinarHarian.com.
3. "Kuching welcome participation of Sarawak United in Premier League". Goal.com.
4. "Kuching FA naik pangkat, Sarawak ke Liga M3". BHOnline.
5. . FootballSentral.com. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
6. http://www.mstar.com.my/sukan/bola-sepak/2017/02/05/piala-fa/ Felcra FA, PBMS FC Lepasi Pusingan Pertama Piala FA
7. http://footballmalaysia.com/portal/index.php/2017/02/06/felcra-fc-pbms-fc-sime-darby-fc-layak-ke-pusingan-kedua-piala-fa-2017/ Felcra FC, PBMS FC & Sime Darby FC Layak ke Pusingan Kedua Piala FA 2017
8. http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3889/main/2017/02/16/32732612/pbms-not-perturbed-by-defeat-to-perak-as-they-switches-over PBMS tried their level best but were undone against far stronger opposition in Perak as they exit the 2017 FA Cup.
9. "Sarawak gobble up Selangor United". thestar.com.my.
10. "Sarawak United U21 2020". FAM. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
11. "Sarawak United U19 2020". FAM. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

External links

• Sarawak Football News site
• Official Sarawak United site