Originally constructed in bonnie Newcastle in 1915, the HMS Malaya had been of service both in World War I and II in places as varied as Denmark, Anatolia, Malta, Genoa, Cape Verde and the Caribbean. She gallantly ended her service as target bouncing bomb practice in Loch Striven in Scotland in 1944, but where Football is concerned, the HMS Malaya made her most important trip in 1921 – to the land after which she was named. Continue reading
For part I of Sunnis, Sukarno and Soccer, please click here.
It is easy to make the mental leap that Indonesia is “more Muslim” than its sibling Malaysia is. But if that is the case, why are Koranic prayers read at before Football matches in Malaysia and not in Indonesia? The answer perhaps lies in the path to independence of both modern nation states.
It is something of a sour point to the Chinese and Indian Malaysians that Islam, a faith that is entirely foreign to them, has been chosen as their state religion. In a country where ethnicity is a factor that influences your legal rights and civil status, the Chinese and Indian Malaysians are somewhat used to playing second fiddle.
The British facilitated the migration of their ancestors from Canton and Kerala into their Southeast Asian territories in Continue reading
A gruff voice boomed across the ground, magnified to ensure absolute clarity. The chatter of noise from the terraces stopped abruptly. All spectators shuffled to their feet. On the ground floor, I was already on mine, but to my left a handful of young men in one of the media boxes end their conversation and put their smartphones away in haste before bowing their heads. The exact message of the announcement was lost on me, but I Continue reading
Selangor FA of the Malaysian Super League are close neighbours and big rivals of Kuala Lumpur FA, with whom they contest the “Klang Valley Derby”. Kuala Lumpur, being a relatively young city, is viewed as a place lacking in culture inhabited by economic migrants with little history by the rowdy fans of Selangor next door. Thanks to KLFA’s recent promotion to the MSL, old scores are being settled in the Klang Valley Derby this season.
Not the most inspirational of designs, but a curious club nonetheless.
Malaysian Football culture and Malaysian culture in general can be difficult to define. After all, Malaysia is not really a country.
It’s best to think of Malaysia as a federation of different states each Continue reading
Not the Netherlands. Not Japan. Not Timor Leste. Indonesia’s biggest sporting rival is undoubtedly Malaysia.
Like Indonesia, what we now call Malaysia would not have existed without colonialism. Different states sharing no previous political unity were brought together in the face of colonialism. Malaya (before it became Malaysia) emerged Continue reading
When you study the history of Indonesia to try and predict which nation contemporary Indonesians would see as their natural rivals on the Football field, there are 3 clear candidates.
The first would be the Netherlands. The Dutch were the foreign nation that Continue reading
As socialmediatisation continues its rampant conquer of our attention, free time, thumbs, creativity and now our work, it is no surprise that the Football Culture of South East Asia is finally getting the global acclaim it deserves. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages dedicated to fan culture are now broadcasting the exploits of the passionate from Jakarta, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Surabaya, Bangkok, Palembang, Pahang and Yogyakarta onto the screens of Italians, Israelis and Irishmen during their coffee break.
Asian fanatics developed their own way of supporting their team before the ubiquity of Social Media. They didn’t simply copy the Ultra Model, as is happening now in growing leagues that are exposed to Ultra behaviour elsewhere. They created something different, using Continue reading
From Boothferry To Germany 