Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, known simply as KL City FC, is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Malaysian football, and was founded in 1974 as Federal Territory by the Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA). It was later renamed Kuala Lumpur FA and Kuala Lumpur United, before renaming to its current name in 2021.
Kuala Lumpur City have won two Malaysian league titles, four Malaysia Cups, three Malaysia FA Cups, and three Malaysian Charity Shields. It also played in the group stages of the Asian Club Championship on two occasions. In 1987, the club narrowly missed out on reaching the final due to goal difference in the semi-finals group stage.
Following its founding, a fierce rivalry developed between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor mainly due to their geographical location. The battle between these two teams is often referred to as the Klang Valley Derby, which was renewed in the 2010 season after Kuala Lumpur ended a seven-year spell in the second-tier with promotion to the Malaysia Super League. Kuala Lumpur were relegated to the second-tier Malaysia Premier League in 2012, and the following year, in 2013, they were relegated to the third-tier Malaysia FAM League for the first time.
History Kuala Lumpur had its most successful period in the late 1980s when they won the national league twice, in 1986 and 1988. They also won the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years (1987, 1988 and 1989). The team enjoyed considerable success in cup competitions in the 1990s, winning the Malaysian FA Cup in 1993, 1994 and 1999. Kuala Lumpur won the Malaysian Charity Shield on three occasions, in 1988, 1995 and 2000.
The club endured a difficult campaign during the 2002 Liga Perdana 1 season, finishing 13th and suffering relegation for the first time in its history. Kuala Lumpur later ended a seven-year absence from the top flight when the club promoted to the 2010 Malaysia Super League to keep the team number balanced after Kuala Muda Naza and UPB-MyTeam withdrew. However, after two seasons, the club were relegated to the Malaysia Premier League in 2012 and the following year, in 2013, they were relegated once more to the Malaysia FAM League, marking their first appearance in the third tier. After spending three seasons in the lower division, Kuala Lumpur won the 2017 Malaysia Premier League title and earned promotion back to the top flight.
In the 2019 Malaysia Super League, Kuala Lumpur finished dead last and suffered relegation once again. However, the club bounced back in 2020, finishing third in the Malaysia Premier League and earning promotion back to the top flight, as Terengganu II, who finished second, were a reserve team and therefore ineligible for promotion, despite the season being shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In September 2020, the club was privatized in accordance to the privatization process by the Football Association of Malaysia and was renamed as Kuala Lumpur United. In December 2020, Stanley Bernard was named the new CEO of the club.
In March 2021, prior to the 2021 Malaysia Super League season, the team changed its name to Kuala Lumpur City. During the same season, Kuala Lumpur City defeated Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0 in the final of the 2021 Malaysia Cup, winning the cup for the first time in 32 years.
As the reigning Malaysia Cup champions, Kuala Lumpur City participated in the AFC Cup for the first time in their history. The club enjoyed a historic run in the competition, winning the ASEAN Zone after defeating PSM Makassar 5–2 in the final. They subsequently advanced to the inter-zone knockout stage and reached the 2022 AFC Cup final, where they were defeated 3–0 by Al-Seeb of Oman at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. It was the first time Kuala Lumpur City had reached a continental final, and they became only the second Malaysian club to do so.
In February 2023, Rinani Group Berhad acquired a majority stake in the club.
Players Current squad
Management and coaching staff PositionStaffHead coach Dollah SallehAssistant head coach Ishak KunjuAssistant coach Wan Mustaffa Wan IsmailGoalkeeper coach Azmin AzramFitness coach Mashidee SulaimanTeam admin Sheikh Muhammad HarisTeam security Zulkifli Abd MalekMedia officer Aris DanialTeam doctors Adzlan Amin Aizat AzamPhysiotherapists Cheryl Lynn Pereira Renesh PrabaharanMasseurs Hamzah Zakaria Raja Adam Mikhail Faizwan Malek
List of head coaches Years Nat. Name Achievement 1979–1981 Yunus Tasman 1982–1984 S. Subramaniam 1985–1986 Jozef Vengloš 1986 League Championship 1987–1989 Chow Kwai Lam 1987 Malaysia Cup 1988 Malaysia Cup1989 Malaysia Cup 1988 League Championship 1988 Charity Shield Cup1989 ASEAN Club Championship 1990 Jozef Jankech 1991 Milouš Kvaček 1992 Chow Kwai Lam 1993 S. Subramaniam 1993 Malaysia FA Cup 1994 Ken Shellito 1994 Malaysia FA Cup 1995 – May 1998 Chow Kwai Lam 1995 Charity Shield Cup May 1998 – June 2000 Mat Zan Mat Aris 1999 Malaysia FA Cup 2000 Charity Shield Cup June 2000 – December 2000 Lim Kim Lian 2001–2002 Wathiq Naji 2001–2002 Lim Kim Lian 2003 Igor Novak 2004–2007 Mat Zan Mat Aris January 2008 Hans Jurgen Gede April 2008 – 2012 Razip Ismail 2013 Stanislav Leiskovsky 2014 Tang Siew Seng January 2015 Ricardo Formosinho April 2015 Tang Siew Seng December 2015 – November 2016 Ismail Zakaria December 2016 – March 2017 Wanderley Junior March 2017 – September 2018 Fábio Magrão 2017 Malaysia Premier League December 2018 – March 2019 Yusri Che Lah March 2019 – June 2019 Chong Yee Fatt July 2019 – November 2019 Rosle Md Derus January 2020 – November 2020 Nidzam Adzha January 2021 – July 2023 Bojan Hodak 2021 Malaysia Cup July 2023 – March 2024 Nenad Baćina March 2024 – 30 June 2025 Miroslav Kuljanac 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026 Risto Vidaković 1 July 2026 – present Dollah Salleh
Honours
Domestic League Malaysian First Division Winners (2): 1986, 1988 Runners-up (3): 1982, 1987, 1989 Malaysian Second Division Winners (1): 2017 Malaysian Third Division Runners-up (1): 2014
Cup Malaysia Cup Winners (4): 1987, 1988, 1989, 2021 Runners-up (1): 1985 Malaysia FA Cup Winners (3): 1993, 1994, 1999 Runners-up (2): 1992, 2023 Malaysia Charity Shield Winners (3): 1988, 1995, 2000 Runners-up (5): 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2022 Federal Territory Minister Cup Winners (2): 2021, 2023 Runners-up (1): 2022
Continental Asian Club Championship 1987: Group stage (2nd in Group B) 1989–90: Group stage (2nd in Group A) Asian Cup Winners' Cup 1994–95: Quarter-finals AFC Cup Runners-up (1): 2022 ASEAN Champions' CupAt the time, the tournament served to determine the teams qualifying for the final stage of the Asian Club Championship. Winners (2): 1987, 1989
U21 team Malaysian President's Cup Winners (3): 1989, 1992, 1998 Runners-up (2): 1995, 2010
Season-by-season record
SeasonDivisionPositionMalaysia CupMalaysian FA CupMalaysian Charity ShieldContinentalAs Federal Territory1979Preliminary16th of 17Did not qualify———1980Preliminary17th of 17Did not qualify———1981Preliminary14th of 17Did not qualify———1982League Cup2nd of 16Quarter-finals———1983League Cup8th of 16Quarter-finals———1984League Cup4th of 16Quarter-finals———1985League Cup5th of 16Runners-up———1986League Cup1st of 16Quarter-finals———As Kuala Lumpur1987League Cup2nd of 17Winners—Runners-upACC – Group stage (2nd)1988League Cup1st of 17Winners—Winners—1989Division 12nd of 9Winners—Runners-upACC – Group stage (2nd)1990Division 14th of 10QF Group A (3rd of 4)First roundRunners-up—1991Division 14th of 10Semi-finalsSemi-finals——1992Division 15th of 10Semi-finalsRunners-up——1993Division 19th of 10Did not qualifyWinners——1994Liga Perdana11th of 16Did not qualifyWinnersRunners-upACWC – Quarter-finals1995Liga Perdana11th of 15Did not qualifyR1 Group E (3rd of 4)Winners—1996Liga Perdana14th of 15Did not qualifyFirst round——1997Liga Perdana9th of 15QF Group A (4th of 5)Quarter-finals——1998Perdana 18th of 12QF Group A (4th of 5)Semi-finals——1999Perdana 15th of 10QF Group B (5th of 6)Winners——2000Perdana 18th of 12QF Group B (3rd of 4)Semi-finalsWinners—2001Perdana 110th of 12QF Group A (4th of 4)Second round——2002Perdana 113th of 14Did not qualifySecond round——2003Perdana 25th of 12Did not qualifyFirst round——2004Liga Premier Group B3rd of 13R1 Group C (4th of 4)Second round——2005Liga Premier Group A4th of 8R1 Group C (4th of 4)Semi-finals——2006Liga Premier Group B5th of 8Did not qualifyFirst round——2007Liga Premier7th of 11R1 Group A (3rd of 6)First round——2008Liga Premier12th of 13R1 Group B (4th of 6)Second round——2009Liga Premier4th of 13R1 Group C (3rd of 4)Second round——2010Super League9th of 14R1 Group B (4th of 4)Second round——2011Super League12th of 14R1 Group D (3rd of 4)Quarter-finals——2012Super League14th of 14Did not qualifySecond round——2013Premier League11th of 12Did not qualifyFirst round——2014FAM League2nd of 12Did not qualifyFirst round——2015Premier League11th of 12Did not qualifyThird round——2016Premier League5th of 12R1 Group B (4th of 4)Quarter-finals——2017Premier League1st of 12Group StageSecond round——2018Super League10th of 12Group StageQuarter-finals——2019Super League12th of 12Did not qualifyQuarter-finals——2020Premier League3rd of 12Cancelled——As Kuala Lumpur City2021Super League6th of 12WinnersNot held——2022Super League6th of 12Quarter-finalsSecond roundRunners-upAFC – Runners-up2023Super League7th of 14Semi-finalsRunners-up——2024–25Super League6th of 13Quarter-finalsRound of 16—ASEAN – Group stage2025–26Super League4th of 13Semi-finalsRound of 16——
Note: A single round-robin league system was instituted in 1979 following the entry of Brunei FA, Kuala Lumpur FA, Sabah FA and Sarawak FA into mainstream Malaysian football. For three years until 1981, the league remained no more than a preliminary round for the knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. In 1982, a League Cup was introduced to differentiate the league winners from the Malaysia Cup champions.
Continental record All results list Kuala Lumpur's goal tally first. Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate1987Asian Club ChampionshipQualifying round (Group 6) Tiong Bahru0–01st out of 4 Kota Ranger8–1 Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian2–0Semi-finals (Group B) August 11–12nd out of 4 Yomiuri FC1–0 Kazma SC1–11989–90Asian Club ChampionshipQualifying round (Group 5) Philippine Air Force6–01st out of 5 Muara Stars7–1 Pelita Jaya2–1 Geylang International4–2Semi-finals (Group A) Nissan Yokohama1–22nd out of 3 Fanja2–01994–95Asian Cup Winners' CupFirst round ABDB5–12–07–1Second round Gelora Dewata2–10–2Quarter-finals Telephone Org. Thailand2–3 1–23–52022AFC CupGroup H PSM Makassar0–02nd out of 3 Tampines Rovers2–1ASEAN Zonal semi-finals Viettel0–0 ASEAN Zonal final PSM Makassar5–2Inter-zone play-off semi-finals ATK Mohun Bagan3–1Inter-zone play-off final Sogdiana Jizzakh0–0 Final Al-Seeb0–32024–25ASEAN Club ChampionshipGroup B Kaya–Iloilo1–0align="center" 3rd out of 6 Borneo Samarinda1–0align="center" Lion City Sailorsalign="center" 0–2 Công An Hà Nội2–3align="center" Buriram Unitedalign="center" 0–1
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