MFL Challenge Cup

The MFL Challenge Cup (Malay: Piala Cabaran MFL), previously referred to as the Malaysia Challenge Cup, is a football tournament in Malaysia that is organized jointly by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The tournament serves as a secondary-tier cup competition for teams that are eliminated during the round of 16 of the Malaysia Cup.

MFL Challenge Cup

Founded	August 2018; 6 years ago (August 2018)
Region	Malaysia
Number of teams	8
Current champions	Selangor (1st title)
Most successful team(s)	Terengganu II Johor Darul Ta'zim II PDRM Selangor (1 title each)
Television broadcasters	Astro Arena
Website	www.footballmalaysia.com
2024–25 MFL Challenge Cup

History

The tournament was created for the Malaysia Super League and the Malaysia Premier League teams that did not qualify for the Malaysia Cup tournament through their league standings. The idea was mooted by the Football Malaysia in December 2017 as a solution to increase the number of competitive games.^[1][2] The inaugural tournament was held in 2018, with eight teams divided into 2 groups of four and playing a double round-robin system. The winners and runners-up of each group qualify to the knockout stage. The tournament is held concurrently with the Malaysia Cup, with Challenge Cup games mostly played in midweek.^[3][4]

Competition format

Selection of teams

For the 2018 edition, the team that finished last in the Malaysia Super League, and the sixth-placed to twelfth-placed teams in the Malaysia Premier League qualified for the tournament.^[5] From 2020 until 2023 it was not held due to COVID-19 pandemic.^[6][7] The FAM announced its return in 2023, featuring 8 teams eliminated in the last 16 of the 2023 Malaysia Cup.^[8]

Knockout stage

From the quarterfinals to the final stage of the competition, the matches are conducted in a two-legged format, with each team playing one match at home and another away.

Results

List of finals

Season	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance	Ref
2018	UKM FC	2–2	Terengganu II	Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam	1,485	[9]
	Terengganu II	2–0	UKM FC	Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu	3,800	[10]
	Terengganu II won 4–2 on aggregate
2019	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	1–0	UKM FC	Pasir Gudang Corporation Stadium, Pasir Gudang	4,830	[11]
	UKM FC	1–0	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Cheras	1,778	[12]
	Aggregate 1–1, Johor Darul Ta'zim II won 6–5 on penalties
2023	PDRM	3–0	Kuching City	Petaling Jaya Stadium, Petaling Jaya	955	[13]
	Kuching City	1–1	PDRM	Sarawak State Stadium, Kuching	2,000	[14]
	PDRM won 4–1 on aggregate
2024–25	Selangor	3–0	PDRM	Petaling Jaya Stadium, Petaling Jaya	3,768	[15]
	PDRM	0–4	Selangor	Petaling Jaya Stadium, Petaling Jaya	2,232	[16]
	Selangor won 7–0 on aggregate

Performance by team

The table shown performances by the six teams who reached the final stage of the MFL Challenge Cup.

Team	Winners	Runners-up	Seasons won	Seasons runners-up
PDRM	1	1	2023	2024–25
Terengganu II	1	0	2018	—
Johor Darul Ta'zim II	1	0	2019	—
Selangor	1	0	2024–25	—
UKM FC	0	2	—	2018, 2019
Kuching City	0	1	—	2023

Records and statistics

Final

• Most titles: 1
  • Terengganu II (2018)
  • Johor Darul Ta'zim II (2019)
  • PDRM (2023)
  • Selangor (2024–25)
• Most appearances in final: 2
  • UKM FC (2018, 2019)
  • PDRM (2023, 2024–25)
• Most defeats in final: 2, UKM FC (2018, 2019)
• Biggest win in final: PDRM 0–4 Selangor (2024–25)
• Most goals in final: 4
  • UKM FC 2–2 Terengganu II (2018)
  • PDRM 0–4 Selangor in the second leg (2024–25)

Winning coaches

Season	Coach	Team
2018	Mustaffa Kamal	Terengganu II
2019	Ervin Boban	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
2023	Yunus Alif	PDRM
2024–25	Katsuhito Kinoshi	Selangor

Top goalscorers=

Season	Player	Team	Goals
2018	Michael Chukwubunna Ijezie	UKM FC	13
align=center|2019	Bruno Suzuki	Terengganu II	6
	Mateo Roskam	UKM FC
	Milad Zanidpour
2023	Uche Agba	PDRM	5
2024–25	Ronnie Fernández	Selangor	4

Awards

Player of the tournament

Officially known as MASKargo Player of the tournament for sponsorship reasons, it is awarded to the overall best player of the season.

Season	Player	Team
2024–25	Ronnie Fernández	Selangor

See also

• Malaysia FA Cup
• MFL Cup
• Piala Emas Raja-Raja
• Football in Malaysia