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Kelantan F.C.
Association football club in Kelantan, Malaysia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kelantan Football Club (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Kelantan) was a Malaysian professional football club based in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Founded in 1946, the club had a long-standing rivalry with Terengganu. The two east coast clubs were involved in the East Coast Derby.[4] Their home was the 22,000-seat Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium. Kelantan's regular kit colours were red shirt and shorts with a white pattern on the side.[5]
The club had their first major success in the 2012 season, when they won the treble which is the Malaysia Super League titles, Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup. Domestically, the club has won 2 Malaysia Super League titles,1 Malaysia Premier League title, 2 Malaysia FA Cup, 2 Malaysia Cup and 1 Charity Shield.[6] Kelantan made their continental debut playing in the AFC Cup. They won the first place in the group stage. However, the club lost in the quarter final to Erbil SC 6–2 on aggregate.[7]
Kelantan had obtained the FAM Club License to play in the 2018 Malaysia Super League season.[8] On 17 January 2024, Kelantan F.C. was expelled from the Malaysia Super League over the financial problems.[9]
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History
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Kelantan Football Club was founded in 1946 as Kelantan Amateur Football Association. KAFA won the first cup in 1953 when they won the Malaysia FAM Cup and retained the cup for the next year.[10] In 1963, KAFA played in the final Malaysia FAM Cup but lost to Singapore.[10] By the period of the 70s, The club had been unlucky when they lost three cup finals (Malaysia cup 1970, FAM cup 1971 and 1972).[10] In 1972 Dali Omar became the first Kelantanese-born player who played abroad, joining Perth Azurri.[11] The former chief minister of Kelantan, Ahmad Rastom Ahmad Maher, was appointed as the president in 1986. 5 years later, the former Kelantan state secretary Wan Hashim Wan Daud took over the position, until 2024. By 2005, Kelantan was relegated to the third-tier Malaysia FAM League.[12][13][14]
2009 season
2009 was the Kelantan debut season in the Malaysia Super League after promotion from the Malaysia Premier League. They obtained 6th spot in the league with 44 points. During the Malaysia FA Cup final, they have lost to Selangor 1–4. Malaysia Cup became their second final for the season, but they lost to Negeri Sembilan.[15]
2010 season
The team gained second place in the Malaysia Super League with 59 points. The top scorer was Norshahrul Idlan with 14 goals. Kelantan's 89-year cup drought ended in the 2010 Malaysia Cup after defeating Negeri Sembilan 2–1.[16][17] B. Sathianathan refused to commit his future to the newly crowned Malaysia Cup champions.[18] Their campaign in the 2009 Malaysia FA Cup ended when Kedah advanced to next round based on away goals rule.[19]
2011 season
Kelantan started their 2011 season by beating Selangor 2–0 in the Charity Shield match held at the Shah Alam Stadium, with the goals scored by Norshahrul Idlan and Badhri Radzi. In the Malaysia FA Cup campaign, Kelantan lost to Terengganu 1–2 in the final.[20] During the Malaysia Super League campaign, Kelantan won the title for the first time. Therefore, they qualified for the 2012 AFC Cup. Norshahrul Idlan became the top scorer for the team. Kelantan's Malaysia Cup campaign ended in the quarter-finals as they lost to Terengganu with 5–3 on aggregate.
2012 season

In the 2012 season, the team clinched their second successive Malaysia Super League title after thrashing Perak 6–0 at home.[21][22] During the 2012 Malaysia Cup campaign, they won the final against ATM.[23] The historical win completed a treble.[24][25]
2013 season
Kelantan started the season with a defeat to ATM in the Charity Shield match.[26] They got 1 win, 3 draws, and 1 loss in the first 5 matches.[27][28]
In the 2013 Malaysia FA Cup, the team met Johor Darul Ta'zim in the final, after defeating Terengganu with 6–5 on aggregate.[29] They defeated Sarawak in the quarter-finals with 4–1 on aggregate. During the final, the sole goal was scored by Nor Farhan Muhammad 15 minutes into the game. With this victory Kelantan successfully retained their Malaysia FA Cup title for the second year.[30][31]
2014 season
Kelantan started the season with a win against Sime Darby at their home ground, Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium.[32][33] Steve Darby was replaced by George Boateng after a big lost 0–4 to Sime Darby.[34][35][36] Ghanaian forward Prince Tagoe signed with Kelantan after the departure of Mohammed Ghaddar. He only made 3 appearances before being released due to poor performance.[37][38]
2015 season
Kelantan began the 2015 season with a 2–0 win over ATM at Majlis Perbandaran Selayang Stadium. Their 2015 Malaysia Super League ended at 9th place with 8 wins, 4 draws and 10 losses. They became the 2015 Malaysia FA Cup runners-up after losing 1–3 to LionsXII. Their 2015 Malaysia Cup ended in 3rd place in group C. George Boateng was replaced by Azraai Khor on 24 March. On 4 July, Azraai Khor resigned and was replaced by Zahasmi Ismail. Wan Zaharulnizam became the first player to win PFAM Player of the Month. Brazilian Gilmar became their top scorer with 11 goals.
2016 season
The team started the season with a 0–0 draw against Perak. Their 2016 Malaysia Super League campaign ended at 4th place, with 7 wins, 8 draws and 7 losses, 29 points collected. Their 2016 Malaysia FA Cup journey ended at the round of 16 after losing to Kedah. The Malaysia Cup campaign ended with elimination in the quarter-finals. Head coach K. Devan resigned on 12 May, being replaced by Velizar Popov. Baze Ilijoski became top scorer of the team with 16 goals. This season also saw a change in the club presidency after Tan Sri Annuar Musa decided to quit, with the position temporarily held by the vice-president Afandi Hamzah.[39]
2017 season
On 30 November 2016, Zahasmi Ismail[40] was appointed the new head coach.[41] Kelantan almost got relegated, but came strong during last match with a 1–3 win over Melaka United, and finished at the 10th position.
2020 season
On 6 September 2020, the club was purchased by businessman Norizam Tukiman for RM 6.8 million.
2021 season
For 2021, as part of the effort to revamp the club, they appointed all new coaching staff. Norizam Tukiman expanded his empire by purchasing an Indonesian club, PSPS Riau. The acquisition opened up opportunities for both clubs to establish a long-term cooperation.
2022 season
During 2022 Malaysia Premier League, Kelantan finished second and got promoted after 5 years.
2023 season
For the 2023 season, Kelantan appointed Choi Moon-Sik as new head coach. They also participated in the 2023 ASEAN Charity Shield against Buriram United. They conceded the most goals in the history of the Malaysian League (121), thus occupying the lowest position in the league.[42]
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Sponsorship
Title and shirt sponsors
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Affiliated clubs
AFC Cup competition
2012 season
2012 was Kelantan's AFC Cup debut, in group G with Arema Cronous, Ayeyawady United and Navibank Sài Gòn. The team was on top of the table with 13 points in 6 matches. Terengganu was defeated by Kelantan in the round of 16 by 3–2. During quarter-finals, Kelantan lost to Erbil SC from Iraq 6–2 on aggregate. Mohammed Ghaddar was the team top scorer with 8 goals.[46][47]
2013 season
Kelantan started their campaign on 6 March with 1–1 draw against Maziya. Their goal was scored by Badhri Radzi. Kelantan has gained first place in group G with SHB Đà Nẵng, Maziya and Ayeyawady United. In the round of 16 they were defeated by Kitchee SC by 2–0.[48]
2014 season
Kelantan was drawn into group G along with South China, Yangon United and Vissai Ninh Bình. They finished bottom of the group with 3 points from 6 matches. On 26 February, the team started their AFC campaign with a 5–3 loss to Yangon United. Wan Zaharulnizam scored 1 goal and 2 more goals came from the captain Badhri Radzi.[49] Wan Zaharulnizam became the top scorer of the team during the 2014 campaign with 3 goals.
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Stadium

Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium is the oldest football field in Malaysia and probably the oldest in Asia, based on the use of field. The stadium was built in 1967.[50]
Season by season records
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Perspective
Champions | Runners-up | Third Place | Promoted | Relegated |
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Individual player awards
Golden Boot winners
Club top goalscorers
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Honours
International competitions
Domestic competitions
League
- Winners (3): 1953*, 1954, 2005 (* shared)
- Runners-up (3): 1963, 1971, 1972
Cups
- Winners (1): 2011
- Runners-up (2): 2012, 2013
Treble
- "Treble Winner" (Malaysia Super League, Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup): 1
- 2012
U21 team
U19 team
Record of success
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Managerial/coaching history
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Captain history
Captain by years (2016–2023)
- Badhri Radzi was the team captain and Khairul Fahmi was the vice-captain
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Hall of fame
100+ appearances
Mohd Badhri Mohd Radzi
Khairul Fahmi Che Mat
Indra Putra Mahayuddin
Nor Farhan Muhammad
Farisham Ismail
* Senior club appearances counted for the domestic league only, from 2008 to 2023.
See also
References
External links
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