STATUS OF TEAMS IN SUPER 2025-2026 AFTER APRIL 30 - MFL

PETALING JAYA, March 18 (Bernama) -- The number of teams participating in next Super League season will only be known after April 30.

Malaysian Football League (MFL) acting chief executive officer Mohd Shazli Shaik Mohd said the First Instance Body (FIB) would meet to decide the number of teams that would be eligible to receive a national license to play in the 2025-2026 Super League.

Mohd Shazli said his party is in touch with the teams involved, including clubs that are plagued by financial problems, to ensure that they could complete the necessary documents before uploading them into the club licensing system.

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"I think we are still optimistic that any existing team can remain and can commit to club licensing.

"So far, through the meeting sessions, it appears very positive. "I think, in over a month, the clubs have to work hard to ensure that matters involving licensing can be fulfilled before the end of April 30," he said when met at the MFL breaking fast with the media here, last night.

Last week, the Regent of Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail in a question and answer session with Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) supporters said that Sri Pahang FC and Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC would most likely not compete in the Super League next season.

He explained that the problem was caused by inefficient financial management when expenses exceeded income.

Asked whether Brunei DPMM would return to the Super League scene, Mohd Shazli said any further developments would be announced in the near future.

Brunei DPMM, which is currently playing in the Singapore Premier League, had competed in the Super League in the 2005/2006 season finishing in the third place.

Mohd Shazli also said that MFL is open to receiving participation from invited teams from foreign countries to spice up the local football competition but must take into account approval from the International Football Federation (FIFA) first.

“Of course, we are open but we also need to take into account when the league will start and when the league in that country will end. We have no problem as long as we get support from FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) followed by approval from the AFC and then taken to FIFA,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the status of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) license application by defending Super League champions JDT, Selangor FC, Sabah FC, Penang FC, KDA and Terengganu FC will only be known after this month.

-- BERNAMA