Kuching City
Full nameKuching City Football Club
Nickname(s)Il Gatto (The Cats)
Short nameKCFC
Founded2015 (2015), as Kuching FA
2021 (2021), as Kuching City
GroundSarawak State Stadium
Capacity40,000
Co-ownerFazzrudin Abdul Rahman
Kamaludin Akil
CEOIswandi Ali Hassan[1]
Head coachAidil Sharin Sahak
LeagueMalaysia Super League
2023Malaysia Super League, 13th of 14
WebsiteClub website

Kuching City Football Club or simply known as Kuching City is a professional football club based in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia that participates in the Malaysia Super League. It is also the youngest club ever to join the highest level of the Malaysian football league system, having been founded in 2015 as a small club.[2] It is the third professional football club based in the state of Sarawak.

History

In 2015, with the commencement of the People Football League introduced by the Football Association of Malaysia, the purpose of the league was to transform lower leagues in Malaysia and promote amateur football in all districts and states across Malaysia.[3][4] Consequently, Kuching F.A. was founded alongside it to represent the district of Kuching in Sarawak.

FAM Cup

In the 2015–16 Liga Bolasepak Rakyat, Kuching won the inaugural edition[5] after beating Padang Besar 3–1 at the Selayang Stadium. With the championship, Kuching got an automatic promotion into the 2017 Piala FAM.

In their first season in FAM League, Kuching achieved 4th place in Group B, qualifying the team for the play-offs. They were knocked out in the quarter-final stage by UKM F.C., which later gained promotion to 2018 Malaysia Premier League as finalist of the play-offs. Kuching's second season in the FAM League saw them in the 4th place in Group A, the same as previous season. Unfortunately, changes in the play-off qualifying saw them miss out on the knock-out stage as only top two teams of each group chosen. Kuching were registered to play in the 2019 Malaysia FAM Cup, but were also invited by FAM to play in the 2019 Malaysia Premier League, as a number of teams pull out from the league.[6]

After announcing their promotion to the 2020 Malaysia Premier League, Kuching changed their kit to a new one to kick start their new journey, the colours are green with white stripes and "City of Unity" is written in the middle of the kit. The following season, they added ''City'' to back of Kuching.

First cup final

Kuching City reach promotion to 2023 Malaysia Super League for the first time in history after the MFL License have been approved for the 2023 season. On 2 August 2023, former Singaporean legend, Aidil Sharin Sahak was announced as the new head coach of the club signing Namibia captain, Petrus Shitembi and Tajikistani midfielder Nuriddin Davronov. Aidil Sharin guided the club to a great run in the 2023 MFL Challenge Cup winning 4–0 on aggregate against his former club, Kedah Darul Aman in the quarter-finals, a 3–1 on aggregate against Kelantan United in the semi-finals which saw the club first ever cup final in their history.

Crest and colours

Kuching's Crest has a Yellow shield and on it is the flag of Sarawak where the club originated from, and a Green White stripped Tiger on it. "City of Unity" is written in the middle of the crest.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2017–2023 Starsport LSC & Kuching City of Unity
LSC, Yakult & Kuching City of Unity
Serba Dinamik, LSC & Yakult

Players

First-team squad

As of 6 January 2023.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Malaysia MAS Andy Nicholas Nipen
2 DF Malaysia MAS Jimmy Raymond
5 DF Brazil BRA Célio Santos
6 MF Tajikistan TJK Nuriddin Davronov
8 MF Malaysia MAS Joseph Kalang Tie
9 MF Malaysia MAS Adam Shreen
10 MF Namibia NAM Petrus Shitembi
11 MF Malaysia MAS Hidhir Idris (on loan from Kedah)
12 DF Malaysia MAS Ramesh Lai
13 DF Malaysia MAS Dzulazlan Ibrahim
14 MF Malaysia MAS Amir Amri
17 MF Malaysia MAS Rafiezan Razali
18 MF Malaysia MAS Amirul Shafik
19 MF Malaysia MAS Irwan Syazmin
20 GK Malaysia MAS Shaiful Wazizi
22 MF Malaysia MAS Zahrul Nizwan
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 MF Malaysia MAS Azriddin Rosli
28 MF Malaysia MAS Wan Faiz Sulaiman
29 DF Malaysia MAS Arham Khusshairi
31 DF Malaysia MAS Badrul Affendy
32 DF Serbia SRB Mihailo Jovanović
33 DF Brazil BRA Aylton Alemão
37 GK Malaysia MAS Wan Azraie
40 DF Malaysia MAS Iskandar Shah
41 DF Malaysia MAS Aiman Joanny
44 MF Malaysia MAS Alif Hassan (captain)
50 MF Malaysia MAS Diego Baggio
64 DF Malaysia MAS Badrul Hisham
77 MF Japan JPN Yuki Tanigawa
79 MF Ivory Coast CIV Dechi Marcel N'Guessan
89 DF Malaysia MAS Mazwandi Zekeria
90 FW East Timor TLS Pedro Henrique
95 FW Malaysia MAS Rahim Razak
99 FW Malaysia MAS Nurshamil Abd Ghani
— DF Malaysia MAS Rodney Celvin

Development squads

Kuching City B (U23)

Head Coach: Malaysia Kamaruddin Anuar

As of 3 March 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Malaysia MAS Steve Selutan Sakai
4 DF Malaysia MAS Iskandar Shah
5 DF Malaysia MAS Azuanie Jasman (captain)
6 MF Malaysia MAS Abang Haikal Za'afari
7 FW Malaysia MAS Firdaus Sajali
8 MF Malaysia MAS Hazazi Masri
9 MF Malaysia MAS Rozaidie Sulaiman
10 FW Malaysia MAS Jeckelly Manir
11 MF Malaysia MAS Aiman Joanny
13 MF Malaysia MAS Fahmi Aimanuddin
15 DF Malaysia MAS Aidil Faris
17 MF Malaysia MAS Abang Azri Fikri
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 GK Malaysia MAS Qaaiman Rizqi
19 GK Malaysia MAS Shahyudin Salehin
20 DF Malaysia MAS Aiman Masrin
22 MF Malaysia MAS Shane Thomas
24 DF Malaysia MAS Fadly Shauqie
25 DF Malaysia MAS Faris Abdullah
26 MF Malaysia MAS Zaim Maslan
27 MF Malaysia MAS Khuzairi Abdullah
28 MF Malaysia MAS Hadad Aiman
30 FW Malaysia MAS Shahryl Aiman
66 FW Malaysia MAS Adifbadri Ariffin
77 FW Malaysia MAS Cornelius Ornley

Season by season record

Updated on 1 November 2022.

Season Division Position Malaysia Cup Malaysian FA Cup Malaysian Charity Shield Regional Top Scorer (All Competitions)
2015–16 Liga LBR Champions DNQ – – –
2017 FAM League 4th of 7 Group B DNQ – – –
2018 FAM League 4th of 7 Group A DNQ Second round – – Malaysia Shafitri Salim (4)
2019 Liga M3 2nd DNQ Second round – – Malaysia Joseph Kalang Tie (18)
2020 Premier League 4th Cancelled Cancelled – – Brazil Bryan Jones (4)
2021 Premier League 5th 3rd of 4th Group stage B Not held – –
2022 Premier League 3rd Quarter-finals Quarter-finals – Liberia Abu Kamara (12)
2023 Super League – –

Foreign players (Since 2019 Era)

Season Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Player 8 Player 9 Former Player
2019 Malaysia M3 League Japan Yuta Suzuki
2020 Malaysia Premier League Brazil Hudson Jesus Brazil Bryan Jones Anicézio Japan Yuta Suzuki Japan Yuki Tanigawa
2021 Malaysia Premier League Brazil Hudson Jesus Brazil Aylton Alemão Nigeria Ijezie Michael Japan Yuta Suzuki Brazil Bryan Jones
2022 Malaysia Premier League Brazil Gabryel Brazil Aylton Alemão Liberia Abu Kamara Japan Yuki Tanigawa Guyana Keanu Marsh-Brown
2023 Malaysia Super League Brazil Célio Santos Brazil Aylton Alemão Brazil Bruno Dybal Japan Yuki Tanigawa Serbia Mihailo Jovanović Liberia Abu Kamara Ivory Coast Dechi Marcel Namibia Petrus Shitembi East Timor Pedro Henrique Burundi Sudi Abdallah

Philippines Julian Schwarzer

Nigeria Michael Ijezie

Uzbekistan Sirojiddin Kuziev

Club staff

As of 1 December 2022 [7]

Team Management
RolePerson
President
Technical DirectorMalaysia Wan Jamak Wan Hassan
ManagerMalaysia Kamaludin Akil
Assistant ManagerMalaysia Iswandi Ali Hassan
Head CoachSingapore Aidil Sharin Sahak
Assistant CoachMalaysia Firdaus Morshidi

Malaysia Zulkarnien Poasa

GK CoachMalaysia Mohd Azley Abdullah
Fitness CoachMalaysia Edward Jamid Unting
Team DoctorMalaysia Abang Mohd Nurfarhan Abang Samatan
PhysiotherapistMalaysia Mohd Khairul Nizam Suhaimi

Malaysia Ferdinand Lisa

Media Officer Malaysia Darul Imran Azmi
MasseurMalaysia Mohamed Zawawi Ali Hassan
MasseurMalaysia Mohd Shahrizan Sahari
KitmanMalaysia Mohammad Hysham Adenan
U21 Manager
U21 Asst. ManagerMalaysia Awang Azami Awang Idris
U21 Head CoachMalaysia Mohd Aiyyman Shah Johny Abdullah
U21 Asst. CoachMalaysia Firdaus Morshidi
U21 CoachMalaysia Nizam Mahmud
U21 GK CoachMalaysia Abdul Gani Anuar
U21 Fitness Coach
U21 PhysioMalaysia Gary Nyelang
U21 MasseurMalaysia Padil Abet
U21 KitmanMalaysia Mohd Hezan Andy Mohd Sait
U21 KitmanMalaysia Awang Mahathir Awang Idris
U21 KitmanMalaysia Sepul Gemok

Honours

League

Cup

References

  1. ↑ "New imports set to bolster Kuching City's Super League 2023 campaign". The Borneo Post. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Kuching Joins Liga FAM". SarawakCrocs.com – Sarawak's No.1 Football Site. 2 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Liga Bola Sepak Rakyat (LBR) to revive interest at district level". SPORTS247.MY – The Ultimate Malaysian Sports Channel. 13 June 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.fourthofficial.com/2015/20837/liga-bolasepak-rakyat-will-unearth-more-talent-najib-razak/ Liga Bolasepak Rakyat will unearth more talent – Najib Razak
  5. ↑ "Kuching FA Juara Sulung Liga Bolasepak Rakyat". SarawakCrocs.com – Sarawak's No.1 Football Site. 28 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Liga Premier: Kuching FA masih tunggu lampu hijau daripada FAM". 30 November 2018.
  7. ↑ lbr.my. "Coaching Staff". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
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