Kota Ranger FC

Kota Ranger Football Club (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Kota Ranger; abbrev: KRFC), formerly Perkota,^[2] is a Bruneian football club, playing in the Brunei Super League. It was formed in 1978 and was successful in the late eighties and early nineties, winning the national championships twice.^[3] Kota Ranger directly translates to City Ranger in English.

Kota Ranger

Full name	Kota Ranger Football Club[1]
Short name	KRFC
Founded	1978; 47 years ago (1978)
Stadium	Berakas Sports Complex
Capacity	500
Owner	Abdul Razak Ibrahim
Head coach	Zulkefly Duraman
League	Brunei Super League
2024–25	BSL, 4th of 16
Home colours Away colours

Having won two national championship playoffs, a competition that pitted the four district champions against one another; in 1987 and 1993, Kota Ranger is regarded as one of the most successful clubs from that era.^[2] Kota Ranger FC, a dominant force in Brunei football in the 1980s and 1990s, and AM Gunners FC are two club names that may hint at some British influence on the local game.^[4]

History

Early days

In the 1970s, Perkota was created by Alidon Laidin and his siblings of Kota Batu on the outskirts of Bandar Seri Begawan, overlooking the Brunei Bay.^[5] Before focusing on football and changing their name to Kota Ranger FC in 1978, the main sports were perahu racing, badminton, and sepak takraw. This was a result of their accepting players from outside the Kota Batu region as well.^[2] They participated in the national championships run by the Brunei Football Association and claimed silverware first in 1987,^[3] then secondly in a league championship in 1992.^[6]

Regionally, they participated in the 1987 Asian Club Championship and the 1992 Borneo Inter-Club Cup, winning the latter outright.^[7] A penalty scored by Momin Ahmad on the 22nd minute of the match between Kota Ranger and Persiba Balikpapan, brought the club to victory.^[2] They failed to qualify for the 1992–93 edition of the Asian Club Championship, despite having beaten PKNK F.C. from Malaysia in the first round.^[8] A few national players, including Liew Chuan Fue and Rosanan Samak of the 1999 Malaysia Cup team, were from Kota Ranger.^[2]

Decline

Kota Ranger was one of the founding clubs of the B-League in 2002.^[9] They were relegated after being in the last place with only one win during the 2004 Premier League,^[10] and spent time in the second tier of Brunei football until 2015, when they became league champions and promoted to the Brunei Super League.^[11] Norsillmy Taha scored the winning penalty which resulted in a 1–0 victory over Tabuan Muda.^[12]

Clashes between Kota Ranger and DPMM FC players during the 2022 FA Cup.

Revival

Currently their best record in the competition is in the 2017–18 season when they finished runners-up to MS ABDB.^[13] In 2019, Kota Ranger claimed their first ever FA Cup triumph, beating MS PDB 2–1, the winner coming in the 89th minute via Nur Asyraffahmi Norsamri after Amir Bujang for the policemen cancelled out an earlier Amalul Said goal.^[14] During the 2020 Super Cup, the club went as far as winning the final match 3–1 against MS ABDB at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium. Adi Said's debut followed by him scoring a hat-trick; on the 3rd, 44th and 90th minutes of the match.^[15]

The club was leading 1st place in the 2020 Super League when it was unexpectedly postponed and eventually cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country, ending the tournament with only two matches completed.^[16][17] That following year, the restrictions were lifted and the club would participate in the 2022 FA Cup,^[18] Kota Ranger made it into the semi finals of the 2022 FA Cup after winning against KB FC in the quarter-finals. However, they would be defeated by DPMM FC with an aggregated score of 3–0.^[19]

Current squad

As of 1 May 2025

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  BRU Hendra Putera Idris 2 DF  BRU Hanif Omar Ali 3 DF  BRU Safwan Amaluddin Sabli 4 DF  BRU Abdul Aziz Tamit 5 DF  BRU Ahmad Hasbullah Alfiandiy 6 MF  BRU Amirul Zafrey Norshaney 7 FW  BRU Aminuddin Masri 8 MF  BRU Habibullah Adanan 9 MF  BRU Hazmi Salleh 10 MF  BRU Asnawi Syazni Abdul Aziz 11 FW  BRU Noorsherzaman Hasan Ahmad 12 FW  BRU Qusyairi Arabimulfhasal 13 FW  BRU Nasy'rul Wafiy Hassan (on loan from Almerez FC) 14 MF  BRU Hafis Mahari

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 FW  BRU Syazwan Sahrin 16 MF  BRU Azim Izamuddin Suhaimi 17 DF  BRU Syaherrul Affendy Syahmirul Nizam 18 FW  EGY Moussa El-Sayed 19 DF  BRU Sholihuddin Jamaluddin 20 MF  BRU Fawzan Abu Kassim 21 MF  BRU Abdul Afiq Roslan 23 MF  BRU Badrul Anak Bujang (Captain) 24 DF  BRU Shah Azahar Abdullah Ahar 25 GK  BRU Hasdattul Anirull Rizam 26 MF  BRU Abu Bakar Ash-Shiddiq Mahmud 29 FW  BRU Nur Hidayat Abbas 30 GK  BRU Ridzuan Muqayyad Mohammad

Club officials

Position	Staff
Owner	Abdul Razak Ibrahim[20]
Team manager	Mesli Dullah
Head coach	Zulkefly Duraman
Goalkeeping coach	Ibrahim Abu Bakar

Continental record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1987	Asian Club Championship	Group Stage	Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian	5–1		4th
			Federal Territory	1–8
			Tiong Bahru CSC	3–2
1992–93		First Round	PKNK	1–1	5–1	6–2
		Second Round	Arseto Solo	1–1	1–2	2–3
1994–95		Preliminary Round	Negro Rubro	advanced
			Davao City
		First Round	Eastern AA	1–6	1–6	2–12

Honours

• Brunei Premier League
  • Champions (1): 2015^[11]
• Brunei Super League
  • Runners-up (1): 2017–2018
• National Championship play-off
  • Champions (2): 1987, 1993
• Brunei FA Cup
  • Champions (1): 2018–2019^[21]
  • Runners-up (1): 2003^[22]
• Piala Sumbangsih
  • Champions (1): 2020^[15]
• Brunei National Championship
  • Champions (1): 1987^[3]
• Jasra Trophy League
  • Champions (1): 1988–89^[23]
• BAFA-Standard Chartered Football League
  • Champions (1): 1992^[6]
• Borneo Inter-Club Cup
  • Champions (1): 1992^[7]
• Piza Cup
  • Champions (1): 2005^[24]
• Piza Cup Charity Shield
  • Champions (1): 2006^[24]
• Joint Cup Championship
  • Champions (1): 2019^[25]