The Malaysia women's national football team represents Malaysia in international women's association football; it is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Despite football being one of the nation's favorite sports, Malaysia is not among the strongest teams in the AFC, especially its women's side. Women's football in Malaysia is considerably underdeveloped.
Consequently, FAM has planned to set up the first women football league in Malaysia. It is planned to be named Women Division 1 and Women Super League.
Team image
Nicknames
The Malaysia women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigress)"[1] or Skuad Kebangsaan (National Team)".
Kits and crest
The logo symbolises the unity and forward progress of Malaysian football. Composed of four main elements, the logo stands for the development and awareness of the international image and patriotism of the sport in Malaysia. The Malayan tiger leaping over a football is the main element of the logo, and symbolises the courage and dignity portrayed while playing the game. The paddy stalks represent the prosperity and wealth of Malaysia, and the development of football in the country from the grassroots level. The Malay kris that rests at the top represents nationalism, and awareness that represents Malaysia at every level of football. The entire emblem is enclosed within a circle that represents the unity and timelessness of the sport.
Kit suppliers
Similar to the men's team, the national team kit was manufactured by Adidas from the 1970s, who also sponsored the national team kit. Since 2007, the official Malaysia team kit has been manufactured by Nike. The home kit's design of black and yellow stripes is a throwback to the kit used by the Malaysian national team of the 1920s. The great national team of the 1970s also sported similar stripes, which are supposed to be reminiscent of the stripes of a tiger, the symbol of Malaysia's national football team. Since November 2010, Nike Malaysia has replaced Adidas as the team kit sponsor.[5]
Ultras Malaya is the name of the major supporter of the national team. They are known for their high fanaticism and support towards the national team. In every international match the national team played, a group standing in the supporter's area can be found. The main colours of the supporters are usually black with a yellow scarf and banners just like the national team kit colours. These supporters always bring flares, drums and large national flags to the stadiums.[6]