Perlis FA

Full name	Perlis Football Association State Football Team
Nickname(s)	Singa Utara (The Northern Lions) [1][non-primary source needed]
Founded	1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Dissolved	2019
Ground	Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium
Capacity	20,000
Owner	Perlis Football Association
President	–
League	Malaysia M3 League
2020	–
Website	https://twitter.com/perlisfootball
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Perlis FA State Football Team (Malay: Pasukan Bola Sepak Negeri Perlis), also known as Perlis FA, is a football team based in Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia which is run and managed by the Perlis Football Association (PFA). The team was founded in 1963 and is currently suspended by FIFA from playing in the Malaysian football league.^[2] Before their suspension, the team played in the 2019 Malaysia Premier League. Year 2019 was the first ever year that Perlis did not enter any tournament in Malaysian League since 1963.

It was one of the 14 Malaysian state teams of the Malaysian football structure before the Malaysian football league demanded all teams competing in the country's top two leagues be run as professional clubs by 2021. Perlis FA is not run as a professional football club, but rather as a team that was funded and run by a Malaysian state football association that relied mostly on state government grants. The team was run was much like all other Malaysian state football teams competing in the old Malaysian football system before the year 2021. To outsiders who are not familiar with the Malaysian football system or league (before the year 2020), the team is simply known as Perlis FA because it was run by the Perlis Football Association. To those who follow Malaysian football on the other hand, the team was simply known as Perlis or Perlis State Football Team.

There were plans to privatize the team after Ahmad Amizal Shaifit Ahmad was elected PFA president in 2018, but the move did not materialise because the association fell into financial crisis the following year (in 2019). The financial crisis resulted in the team being suspended by FIFA for failing to settle salary arrears of players and coaches. Their participation in the Malaysian football league was subsequently cancelled. Stories of the financial crisis faced by the team were widely reported by the Malaysian media at the time.^[3]

Founded in 1963, the team has a long-standing rivalry with Kedah FA, the two northern teams collectively known as the "Northern Derby". Their home is the 20,000-seat Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium, built in 1995 to replace the Dato' Sheikh Ahmad Stadium.

Perlis had their first major success in the 2004 season, when they won the Malaysia Cup. They went on to win the Malaysian top-tier league, the Malaysian Super League, in 2005. It would be the only time to date that the team would win the Malaysian top division, though they won another Malaysia Cup in 2006. Interestingly the team never won the Malaysia FA Cup, although they were beaten finalist three times in 2003, 2006 and 2007. The team had also won the Malaysian Charity Shield (which is also known as the Piala Sumbangsih) twice in 2007 and 2008.

As for continental tournaments, 2006 was their debut playing in the AFC Cup. They did qualify for the 2010 edition of the AFC Cup but withdrew from the competition.

Perlis FA's most successful era to date was during the time when Shahidan Kassim was president of the Perlis Football Association (PFA) from 1998 to 2013. Affectionately known as 'Pak Dan' by the people of Perlis, he is also a Malaysian politician and former Malaysian federal minister from Tambun Tulang, Perlis. He was instrumental in transforming Perlis into a force to be reckoned with in Malaysian football. His tenure as PFA president ended after the team, being a Malaysian state football team, has been struggling financially towards the end of his tenure of as the association's president.^[4] Perlis FA have so far not won any trophy after winning the Malaysia Charity Shield in 2008.

The team is currently serving a two-year FIFA suspension for failing to settle salary arrears of players and coaches in 2019. It was however not clear whether FIFA had suspended PFA as the Malaysian state team or the PFA as the association which governs football in the Malaysian state of Perlis because both entities had used the same name before this. With some Perlis-based clubs such as Perlis United FC and Northern Lions FC are still competing and participating in the Malaysian football league after the suspension, the FIFA suspension could be interpreted as a suspension on PFA as the team and not PFA as the association.^[5]

Following the currently ongoing suspension by FIFA and the new rules set by the Malaysia football league management, it is unlikely that the team will be known as Perlis FA after the year 2021.

With Malaysian football league demanding all teams competing in the country's top two leagues to be run as or changed to professional clubs by 2021, Perlis FA will have to use another name (than "Perlis FA") to compete in the Malaysia football league after their suspension. This was because from year 2021 onwards, any team not run as a club or run as an association (in other words, teams which are not privatised) are no longer allowed to compete in Malaysia's top two tier leagues.^[6][7]

Should the team had not fallen into financial crisis in 2019 and managed to get themselves privatised in 2020, the team was most likely be known as Perlis Northern Lions FC because in 2019, the team had used a crest which bears the name Perlis Northern Lions on their kits and official social media platforms, although they did not operate as a privatised football club at the time.^[8]

Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium

Former names	Stadium Utama, Kangar
Location	Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia
Owner	Perlis State
Capacity	20,000
Construction
Broke ground	1994
Opened	1995
Tenants
Perlis FA (1995–2019)

Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium or Stadium Utama Kangar is a multi-purpose stadium in Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 20,000 people and opened in 1995.

Perlis play their home matches wearing primarily yellow shirts, which sometimes had some touch of blue colour added on their designs. The team also play their home matches wearing either yellow or blue shorts and either yellow, blue or white socks. The colours for the kit worn by the Perlis FA state football team when they play their home matches are inspired by the colours of the Malaysian state of Perlis flag, which is yellow and blue.

The Perlis FA state football team have a supporters' group known as the Ultras Perlis – Brigate Gialloblu (BGB Perlis) which was established in 2011. The supporters' group is known to be one of the most passionate set of supporters in the country. When attending matches played by Perlis FA, the group could be recognised by their black outfits while sporting yellow and blue scarfs (also known as the mafla in football). Claiming to support the team through thick and thin, they can also be seen chanting and singing to support their team from a section of the Perlis FA's home stadium, the Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium, (known to them as the 'curva') during Perlis FA's home matches.

The following are the sponsors of Perlis FA since 1995:–

Periods	Kit Manufacturer	Main Sponsor	Other Sponsor
1995	Lotto	Dunhill	None
1996	Kronos
1997	Adidas
1998			DSSK
1999	Lotto
2000	Adidas
2001	Puma
2002	Diadora
2003	Admiral
2004
2005	Joma	Telekom Malaysia	Bintong Construction
2006	Kappa
2007	Diadora		DSSK
2008	KIKA		Troyten
2009			DSSK
2010			Yayasan Pok dan Kassim
2011		ASTRO
2012	Kubba
2013	Warriors		Warriors
2014	FBT		Canggih
2015	Carino	Carino	FG Footwear
2016			MaraLiner
2017		Daily Fresco	Hotel Ban Cheong
2018	SkyHawk	Yonhin (Perlis) Sdn. Bhd.	FG Footwear

As of 12 January 2019^[9][10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  MAS Amran Omar 2 DF  MAS Madzalan Emoi 3 DF  MAS Fauzi Nan 4 DF  ZAM Kabwe Kamuzati 5 MF  MAS Adrien Jurad Chamrong 6 MF  MAS Mandzoor Azwira 7 MF  MAS Azlan Ismail 8 MF  BRA Joao Bandoch 9 FW  SLE Lamin Conteh Al-Hidayah 10 FW  ZAM Phillimon Chipeta 11 FW  MAS Nizaruddin Yussof 12 GK  MAS Tay Sin Kiat 13 DF  MAS Azizi Mat Rose

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  MAS Feriza Ismail 16 FW  ZAM Zacharia Simukonda 17 MF  MAS Nazaruddin Zain 18 DF  MAS Shariman Che Omar 19 MF  MAS Effendi Malek 20 FW  MAS Yusri Che Lah 21 MF  MAS Ivan Yussof 22 GK  MAS Zainal Rabin

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  MAS Afif Nadzri 2 DF  MAS Aiman Yusoff 3 DF  MAS Haziq Akmal 4 DF  MAS Iskandar Ismail 5 DF  MAS Nusyamin Jusoh 6 MF  MAS Azeem Roslan 7 MF  MAS Faiz Saffuan 8 MF  MAS Imran Azizi 9 MF  MAS Tengku Fikri 10 FW  MAS Aliff Najmie 11 MF  MAS Izzat Taufeq 12 DF  MAS Ikhmal Mansor 13 MF  MAS Danial Abdullah 14 MF  MAS Syafiq Harith

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  MAS Kamal Arif 16 MF  MAS Navitha JR a/l Kla Chang 17 MF  MAS Harith Izzudin 18 DF  MAS Fauzan Fazil 19 GK  MAS Alif Fahmi 20 FW  MAS Izdyhar Ehsan 21 DF  MAS Haiqal Noh 22 GK  MAS Annil Hakim 23 MF  MAS Aidil Ezraf 24 MF  MAS Somsak a/l Sayri 25 MF  MAS Faiz Nazri 26 DF  MAS Akhil Asyraf 27 MF  MAS Uwais Hazisukino

Position	Name
First team manager
Assistant manager
First team head coach
Assistant head coach I
Assistant head coach II
Goalkeeper coach
Fitness coach

Source:^{[citation needed]}

• Scissors Cup (India)

Runners-up (1): 1995^[11][12]

Update on 29 November 2018.
*Note :

• P = Played, W = Win, D = Draw, L= Loss, F = Goal for, A = Goal against, D = Goal difference, Pts = Points, Pos = Position

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

Source:^[15][16]

Season	Player	Goals
2003	Phillimon Chepita	23
2005	Zacharia Simukonda	18
2009	Mohd Nizaruddin Yusof	18

Season	Player	Goals
1995	Rustam Abdullaev	11
2003	Phillimon Chepita	23
2004	Phillimon Chepita	9
	Yusri Che Lah
2005	Zacharia Simukonda	18
2005–06	Phillimon Chepita	13
2006–07	Phillimon Chepita	13
	Azlan Ismail
2007–08	Phillimon Chepita	13
2009	Mohd Nizaruddin Yusof	18
2010	Ahmad Fakri Saarani	5
2011	Rizal Ghazali	5
2012	Lamin Conteh	8
2013	Badrul Hisani Abd Rahman	6
2014	Dao Bakary	8
2015	Mohd Shafiq Azmi	14
2016	Charles Chad	7
2017	Brandon Adams	6
2018	Norhamizaree Hamid	6

Manager by Years (2008–present)

Years	Name
2008–2009	Dato' Ismail Kassim
2009–2010	Mohd Noor Aziz
2010–2012	Azahar Ahmad
2013–2014	Shahruddin Ismail
2015–2017	Afifi Osman
2018–2019	Zailuddin Ariffin

Coach by Years (1985–present)

Years	Name
1985–89	Mohd Mohayudin Rosli
1994–96	Joseph Herel
1996	Bakri Ibni
1997–2000	Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
2001	Salim Tofel Mohamad
2001–2002	Tajuddin Noor
2003–2005	Norizan Bakar
2005–2007	Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
2007–2009	Irfan Bakti Abu Salim
2010	Muhammad Nidzam Adzha Yusoff
2010	Ahmad Yunus Mohd Alif
2011	Moshtakeen Omar
March 2011 – April 2011	Salim Tofel Mohamad (caretaker)
April 2011 – October 2011	Jánós Krécská
June 2012 – December 2012	Robert Scully
December 2012 – November 2013	Ahmad Yunus Mohd Alif
December 2013 – June 2014	Reduan Abdullah
December 2014 – October 2015	Yusri Che Lah
November 2015	Dollah Salleh
December 2016–6 March 2017	Razip Ismail
8 March 2017 – November 2017[17]	Syamsul Saad
December 2017 – December 2018	Manja Man
December 2018–	Manzoor Azwira[18]

• Perlis United F.C. (formerly known as KSK Tambun Tulang F.C.)
• Kuala Perlis F.C.

• Official website