The Kuala Lumpur City Football Club traces its’ origins to the formation of the Federal Territory Football Association (FTFA) in 1975. Unique to Malaysia, top-level football in the country was an inter-state affair with the teams managed by state associations. FTFA was a breakaway group from the FA of Selangor as they saw the need for another association in the Klang Valley due to the growing number of clubs.
FTFA joined the reformed Malaysian league in 1979 and struggled to stay above water for three years before finishing league runners-up in 1982. The election of Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Elyas Omar as FTFA president revolutionised football in the national capital, leading to a name-change of Kuala Lumpur FA (KLFA) and a period of domination from 1986 to 1989 which brought a haul of three Malaysia Cups, two league championships and two Asean Club Championship titles.
Kuala Lumpur enjoyed further success in the 1990s with three FA Cup titles built on the belief in youth while continuing to reap rewards at under-age football. The likes of Subadron Aziz, Azman Adnan, Shahrin Majid, Nizaruddin Yusuf, Safee Sali and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri is proof of KLFA’s consistent ability to produce talent.
Led by former FA of Selangor secretary K. Rasalingam together with other members Goh Ah Chai, Hamzah Muhammad, M.J. Vincent, Shariff Mustafa, Jeswant Singh and Manickarajah, this set of officials saw the need for another association in the Klang Valley due to the growing numbers of clubs.
FTFA was officially formed in 1975 with Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah elected as their first president. Hamzah went on to become the F.A. of Malaysia president in 1977 and FTFA deputy president Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen took over at the helm. It was that year too that FTFA organised their first league competition with 30 clubs. The clubs were divided into the Dunhill League, Bandaraya (City) League, First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Reserve League and Government Departments and Business House League.
The following year FTFA was first represented at the national level when they competed in the Razak Cup (Under-18). It was in 1979 that the Federal Territory made their debut in the Malaysia Cup league competition. They started as the whipping boys but by 1982 were already making waves to be among the top teams in the league although they failed to win any titles. In 1984, Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen stepped down as president and Tan Sri Elyas Omar was elected the third president of the association.
The election of Elyas was about the best thing that happened to FTFA due to his dedication to the association. Elyas played a major role in raising the standard of football in Kuala Lumpur by introducing professionalism when he recruited players from other states and Singapore. He made available better training and playing facilities. In 1985, under the guidance of Czechoslovak coach Dr Jozef Venglos, Federal Territory reached their first Malaysia Cup final after only competing in the tournament for seven seasons.
FTFA officially changed its name to Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) in 1987, and thus forever linked with the city. Kuala Lumpur joined the ranks of the heavyweights of Malaysian football while supplying a good number of players for the national team over the years.
The post-Elyas years saw lean pickings for Kuala Lumpur although they did win the FA Cup three times in 1993, 1994 and 1999, which remains Kuala Lumpur’s last major trophy. Relegation from the then-Premier 1 followed in 2002 – the first time Kuala Lumpur were demoted from the top-flight- and it took seven years before the city side returned to the top-flight, making their maiden appearance in the Super League in 2010.
Kuala Lumpur spent three years in the Super League before back-to-back relegations followed, reaching a nadir in 2013 with demotion to the FAM League. But the team bounced straight back up to the Premier League with a runners-up finish in the third-tier before winning the Premier League title in 2017 under Brazilian coach Fabio Maciel. Two seasons in the Super League was followed by another spell in the second-tier in 2019, during which Kuala Lumpur secured promotion with a third-place finish.
As Malaysian football teams transitioned into privately-owned football clubs, Kuala Lumpur City FC was formed as a wholly-owned club of KLFA. One of the club’s former player, Stanley Bernard, was appointed to chart a course through this exciting period full of possibilities as the club’s chief executive officer.
The conversion from a Football Association-run team to one that is a full-fledged professional football club allows for various commercial opportunities to be exploited.
No different than any other corporation, Kuala Lumpur City is run on corporate governance principles which has in place a system of rules, practices and processes by which the club is directed and controlled and a proper structure which identifies the individuals which have power and accountability, and those who make decisions.
As a football club guided by business principles, securing the interests of a player and his welfare is key towards ensuring success on the pitch. A well-run business side of the club will lead to greater things on the sporting side.