PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Football League (MFL) have rebranded the National Football Awards as the M League Awards, with the annual ceremony also set to adopt a new selection format from this season.
The governing body said the changes were approved during their second board meeting for the 2025-2029 term chaired by president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan.
Under the revamped format, performances across the entire Malaysian League season will now be taken into account, including the remaining Super League matches, domestic cup competitions and the Malaysia Cup final.
MFL said the rebranding reflects the awards’ focus on recognising outstanding individuals and teams in the Malaysian League rather than the wider national football ecosystem, which includes the national team, age-group competitions and women’s football.
“Previously, the evaluation process only covered up to the 24th Super League match, with eligible players having featured in an average of at least 28 matches across the Super League, FA Cup, Malaysia Cup and MFL Challenge Cup.
“However, this meant several important matches towards the end of the season, including the remaining Super League fixtures that could determine the final league standings, were not taken into consideration,” MFL said in a statement.
The league body said the revised format would provide a more accurate assessment of players’ and coaches’ performances by taking into account the entire season.
It will also allow important moments in the closing stages of the campaign, including goals, assists and outstanding saves in high-profile matches, to be considered during the selection process.
“Player statistics will also be more comprehensive as the maximum number of matches a player can feature in during a season is 38 across the Super League, FA Cup, Malaysia Cup and MFL Challenge Cup,” added MFL.
The inaugural M League Awards, which are expected to be held in August, will feature 15 award categories after the Best Young Player in the MFL Cup and MFL Cup Top Scorer awards were removed following the discontinuation of the MFL Cup from the 2025-2026 season.
At the same time, the screening committee, which met on June 16, shortlisted 220 of the 408 players who featured this season for consideration across the award categories.
The committee comprises Football Coaches Association of Malaysia president Datuk Ong Kim Swee, Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) president Razman Roslan, former Malaysia Under-23 coach Nafuzi Zain and Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) deputy president Izahar Atan.
