Selangor

1905–1936: Beginnings

A Selangor state football association was founded in 1905 to establish and manage an internal state league, called the Selangor Association Football League (SAFL). The first cup competition was sponsored by the British Resident of Selangor, R.G. Watson. There were also reports that the association was led by British Residents at that time.^[]

Due to an internal conflict, some officials left the organization in 1926 and founded the Selangor Football Association (SFA), a new organization. The dispute between the SAFL and the SFA continued for almost ten years before the two sides negotiated back on a deal for the betterment of the future of football in the state of Selangor. Finally, the two football entities officially merged on 22 February 1936, under the name of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) (Malay: Persatuan Bola Sepak Selangor) and forming Selangor FA to represent the state of Selangor.

During this period, Selangor won their first ever piece of silverware in the form of the Malaya Cup in 1922, in a 3–2 win over Singapore FA (a rivalry that would come to define Malaysian football in future years) and going on to win the Malaya Cup a further five times in 1927, 1928, 1929, 1935 and 1936.

MAHA Stadium (Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association Stadium): Selangor FA's First Stadium

The proposal to build a stadium that can accommodate 5,000 spectators was first voiced in 1927, and from the very beginning the venue was built in collaboration between MAHA (Malayan Agri-Horticultural Association [ms]) and the Selangor football association. Initially three sites were nominated for the venue; at Gaol Road (now Jalan Hang Tuah), at the intersection of Jalan Bukit Bintang and Circular Road (now Jalan Tun Razak, possibly on the site of where Prince Court Medical Centre now stands), and at Jalan Pudu. The site chosen was ultimately at the intersection of Circular Road and Jalan Ampang, and according to press reports of the time, it began construction in 1928 and was completed the following year. The specific location of the stadium is not known, it is only said in press reports to be behind a police station at this intersection, which is the current Jalan Tun Razak police station.

When it was completed, MAHA was sued by the surrounding residents because it was said that the football matches held there disturbed public order. Although the suit was in favor of the stadium owners, Selangor only began to make the stadium their official ‘home ground’ in 1931, in the Malaya Cup against Penang on July 18, a match that ended in a 5–3 victory for Selangor. The squad played a total of 20 times at this stadium between 1931 and 1940, and won 14 times. The eight finals of the Malaya Cup were held here with Selangor being finalists four times. However, the club won only one final, in a 2–0 win over Singapore FA in 1935. Their last match here was nine years later, against Kedah in the Malaya Cup on 20 July 1940.

In the aftermath of the Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945, the MAHA Stadium was damaged which made it unusable and was subsequently destroyed. The current site of the former MAHA Stadium has now become an area for car dealers, with a shopping mall right next to the Jalan Tun Razak police station, also included are residential and embassy areas. In this neighborhood there are several fields and open spaces owned by Kelab Aman, SJKC Chung Hwa (P), and a cricket association.

1937–1960: Between World War II and Independence

The outbreak of World War II slowed down FAS' efforts to develop domestic football. The effort was started aggressively as soon as the war ended. Efforts to upgrade state football continued with the association laying out plans to construct a new football stadium for the state team. The state team prior to the war played at MAHA Stadium in Jalan Ampang and in the intervening years at Selangor Field Club (now Dataran Merdeka), the team's new home ground clearly required a stadium in line with the association's direction. The association management met the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur several times for permission to construct the stadium but a solution couldn't be found. The impasse meant that Selangor's home stadium plan had to be put on hold.

However, the appointment of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj as the first official FAS president (who also held the presidency of the Football Association of Malaysia at that time) was a right move for the association. After becoming Prime Minister of the newly independent Federation of Malaya in 1957, Tunku Abdul Rahman pioneered the stadium construction business and ordered the construction of Stadium Merdeka to celebrate the country's independence as well as being Selangor's official new home stadium. Stadium Merdeka also served as the occasional home ground of the Malaysia national football team as well as the staging of international sporting events.

After 1951, Tunku Abdul Rahman vacated the presidency of the FAS. He was succeeded by the Independent MP for Bangsar (now known as Bangsar) constituency and also a teacher by profession, S.C.E. Singam, who became the second official FAS president until 1953, where he was succeeded by K. Sundram. Between 1951 and 1960, the club won two Malaysia Cups in 1956 and 1959, finishing as runners-up in 1957 and 2 Malaysia FAM Cups in 1953 and 1960, finishing as runners-up in 1952 and 1955.

1961–1983: Era of Harun Idris' Leadership

Dato' Seri Harun Idris is synonymous with football in Selangor and Malaysia in the 1960s to the early 1980s. He ran as president of the FAS for 21 years from 1961 to 1983. During his leadership, Selangor won 15 Malaysia Cups as well as doing a lot of positive changes for the association. The club was originally headquartered at the MCA building in Jalan Ampang before the construction of Wisma FAS in 1973 at Merdeka Stadium under the president's (who was also the Chief Minister of Selangor at the time) and club manager Hamzah Abu Samah's efforts.

In that time, the club won the Malaysia Cup 15 times in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982 as well as the Malaysia FAM Cup 5 times in 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968 and 1972.

1983–1989: Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali era

Tan Sri Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali [ms], who was the Chief Minister of Selangor at that time became FAS President from 1983 to 1989. In the 1984 Malaysian League season, under his leadership Selangor won their first ever Malaysian top division football league title, a league that was first introduced with a winner's trophy in 1982. Additionally, Selangor also won the Malaysia Cup in 1984 to achieve a historic league and cup double, a first in the history of Malaysian football.

The club also won the Malaysia Cup in 1986 where club legends Mokhtar Dahari and R. Arumugam made their final appearances in a Malaysia Cup Final. In 1989, the club also won the rebranded Semi-Pro League Division 1 that replaced the Malaysian League as the country's top-flight football league and in turn was the final trophy under Ahmad Razali's leadership.

1990–1995: All-New Stadium and Wisma FAS

After a series of successes for the club, the FAS decided to end the club's tenure at Stadium Merdeka to fulfill the ambitions of the club. As a result, an all-new stadium development had to be approved and built. Finally, on January 1, 1990, a groundbreaking ceremony for the new stadium was held in Shah Alam, Selangor. With the construction of the new Shah Alam Stadium, the ground could accommodate up to 80,000 spectators at a time. Its structure is the longest free gate in the world in that era. It also become one of the major landmarks in Shah Alam, Selangor due to its impressive size and design. The stadium has been the home of Selangor since it opened in July 1994, after the club moved from Stadium Merdeka. FAS also moved to their new headquarters in Kelana Jaya, Selangor which was known as Wisma FAS in the mid-1990s. In that time, the club won the Semi-Pro League Division 1 twice in 1989 and 1990, and won the Semi-Pro League Division 2 in 1993 after suffering relegation the year before, as well as a Malaysia FA Cup triumph in 1991, a Malaysia Cup triumph in 1995 and a Malaysia Charity Shield triumph in 1990.

1996–2010: 17 Trophies Collected

The period between 1996 and 2010 was Selangor's most successful period despite a relegation in between. In the 1996 season, with Ken Worden as head coach, they won the Malaysia Charity Shield and the Malaysia Cup. The following season, Steve Wicks was appointed as head coach and guided the club to success with a trifecta of trophies in the Malaysia Charity Shield, the Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup. Under the guidance of coach K. Rajagopal from 1999 to 2000, Selangor won the 2000 Premier League 1 title, which was the top-flight league in Malaysia at the time and secured their fourth league title. Ken Worden was appointed again and won the Malaysia Charity Shield and the Malaysia Cup in the 2002 season.

In the 2004 season, the club were relegated to the brand new second-division, the Malaysia Premier League. Dollah Salleh was appointed as head coach and won the 2005 Malaysia Premier League, the Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup, completing a unique treble and won immediate promotion back to the Malaysia Super League. However, in the following seasons the club did not win any trophies as this was attributed back to the club's poor management.

In the 2009 season, K. Devan was appointed as head coach and also the club manager. It was the first time in the club's history that both roles had been given to the same person. K. Devan is considered to have one of the best managerial records for the club. He won the Malaysia Super League in 2009 and 2010, the 2009 Malaysia FA Cup and the Malaysia Charity Shield in 2009 and 2010, with the 2009 triumphs being the club's second ever double winning season after the 1984 success. As of 2022, 2010 was the last time that the club won the top-flight league in Malaysia, the Malaysia Super League.

2011–2017: Period of decline

The club went through in what is considered to be the worst period in their history having gone through 7 different head coaches. However, despite that, in 2015, the club won the Malaysia Cup for a record 33rd time under the management of former player Mehmet Duraković. That tally is still unsurpassed and the club remains as one of the most successful in the competition's history. Affairs off the pitch however were not great as management problems during the tenure of Mohamed Azmin Ali when he led the club as FAS President caused Selangor to vacate their home ground, the Shah Alam Stadium and the internal conflict between Exco members and management of the club also led to a decline in the club's performance on the pitch.

2018–present: Tengku Amir Shah era

In July 2018, The Crown Prince of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah (RMS) was appointed as the new president of FAS. He took over the seat left by Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal. Since Tengku Amir Shah took over the presidency, a lot of effort was made to improve the club. This began a new chapter for the club in the modern day.

In July 2019, they moved to a new 400,000-square foot facility in Section 5, Shah Alam called the Selangor FA Training Centre (now known as Selangor FC Training Centre) which had a three-year lease from the Government of Selangor. The facility also sees the administrative headquarters of the Football Association of Selangor, club administration office, indoor training, training pitches, gym, first team lounge, physio treatment area, locker room as well as enabling the administrators and coaches to be put under one roof.

On 9 October 2019, as part of the privatization effort, FAS decided to only manage the U17 squad, U14 squad, U12 squad, the Women's squad and focused on the association's roles in the state of Selangor. The club also took over PKNS FC and acted as a reserve team known as Selangor II and play in the Malaysia Premier League while the existing Selangor U20 and Selangor U18 squads were known as Selangor III & IV. All 3 teams were streamlined and restructured as part of a developmental path to the first-team squad.

On 2 October 2020, Selangor announced that their privatisation documentations submission has been approved by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The club who have been operating officially as a football association (FA), revealed that it will be known as Kelab Bolasepak Selangor, Malay for Selangor Football Club (Selangor FC) after the 2020 domestic football season ends in Malaysia, starting from 1 December 2020. The football team was managed by a newly established entity; Red Giants FC Sdn Bhd and the football team was rebranded as Selangor Football Club.