Borneo Cup
The winner of the first season of Borneo Cup in 1962, North Borneo football team, one year before the merger to form Malaysia.
Founded1950s
Abolished1989
RegionEast Malaysia and Brunei
Last championsSarawak Sarawak (7th title)
Most successful team(s)Sabah Sabah (13 titles)

Borneo Cup (Malay: Piala Borneo) is a football tournament held in East Malaysia and Brunei. The tournament was played in Borneo since the 1950s, perhaps earlier. Before the establishment of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the tournament was contested by three national teams, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei.[1][2] After North Borneo and Sarawak formed Malaysia together with Malaya and Singapore, it competed as states of Malaysia.

In 1977, the tournament champions Sabah qualify for the Malaysia Cup. The following year, the tournament served as the Malaysia Cup east zone qualifying round.[2] In the 2010s, there is an effort to revive the Cup by the Sabah Football Association (SAFA), but with the absence of sponsors and the tight schedule of the Brunei team in the S.League became a major barrier to the efforts.[3]

History

The Borneo Football Championship was first played by British Crown colony officials who took over the management of British North Borneo from the North Borneo Chartered Company in 1946 after the Second World War.[3] It was then officially called the Borneo Cup in 1962. The oldest football club in Borneo, Kuching Wanderers FC (now known as the Kuching Football Association) can be said to be the pioneer of this tournament in the era of British rule. Sabah, which is known as North Borneo at that time became the inaugural champion in 1962. The Sabah team then won another 12 titles from 23 Borneo Cup editions until 1988.[3] Sarawak won seven times while Brunei won only three times. Sabah who became the Borneo Cup champion in 1977 was the first team from Borneo Island to compete in the Malaysia Cup. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also invited Sarawak and Brunei to compete in the Burnley Cup (which is now known as the President's Cup). In 1989, the Borneo Cup was abolished after the failure of the team to conclude an agreement with FAM to join the Semi-Pro League.

Champions

Year Champions
1962 North Borneo
1963 Sabah Sabah
1964 Sabah Sabah
1965 Sarawak Sarawak
1966 Sarawak Sarawak
1967 Sabah Sabah
1968  Brunei
1969 Sarawak Sarawak
1970 Sabah Sabah
1971 Sabah Sabah
1972 Sabah Sabah
1973–76 No competition
1977 Sabah Sabah
1978 Sabah Sabah
1979 Sabah Sabah
1980 Sabah Sabah
1981 Brunei Brunei[4]
1982 Sarawak Sarawak
1983 Sarawak Sarawak
1984 Sabah Sabah
1985 Sabah Sabah
1986 Sarawak Sarawak
1987  Brunei
1988 Sarawak Sarawak[5]
1989–present not held

References

  1. ^ "Borneo Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "North Zone now for Singapore". The Straits Times. National Library Board. 22 August 1977. p. 31. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Kembalikan 'roh' Piala Borneo" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 8 December 2015. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. ^ "AZAM PASOKAN KITA MEREBUT PIALA BORNEO TERCHAPAI" (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 6 January 1982. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Coach who just loves a dare". New Sunday Times. 20 October 1988. Retrieved 18 January 2024 – via Google News Archive Search.
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