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Football in Myanmar

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Football in Myanmar
CountryMyanmarMyanmar
Governing body
Myanmar Football Federation
National team(s)Men's national team
Women's national team

Myanmar national futsal team

Myanmar national beach soccer team
Nickname(s)Chinthe
The Asian Lionesses
First played1880s (men)Christian Gilberti (10 February 2020). "Did you know there was a golden age of Myanmar soccer?". www.myanmor.org. MyanMore. Retrieved 2022-08-12.;
1926 (women)"First Ladies' Football Match In The East". The Straits Times. 1926-09-14. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
Registered players1947 (as Burma Football Federation)
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Football is the most popular sport in Myanmar.[1] The Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) is the governing body of football in Myanmar. It was formed in 1947 as the Burmese Football Federation. The MFF joined FIFA in 1952 and AFC in 1954.

Early history

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Football was introduced to Myanmar, then named Burma, by the British colonialists in the 1880s, when explorer James George Scott organised a match between the British and the Burmese in Lanmadaw Township.[2] Football quickly became extremely popular across the country. So much so, that by the 1920s, Burmese started to spread the sport across East Asia. U Kyaw Din, a Burmese born in 1900, wrote one of the earliest books about the sport and promoted it so successfully in Japan that he became a member of the Japanese Football hall of fame posthumously in 2007.[2]

In September 1926, the reportedly first women's football match was organised to raise funds for a charity.[3]

League system

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The highest men's football league is the Myanmar National League. The second division is called the MNL-2. The highest women's football league in the country is the Myanmar Women League.

Pyramid

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Level League(s)
1
Myanmar National League
12 clubs – ↓ 2 relegation
2
MNL-2
8 clubs (2024 season )
2 promotion ↑ - 2 relegation↓
3
MNL-2
MNL-2 Pro Amateur Club Tour
8 clubs( 2024 season )
2 promotion ↑

Regional and state leagues

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  • Kyaukse Premier League
  • Manaw League
  • Minbu League
  • Yangon Premier League
  • Pyinmana League

Men's national team

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Main article: Myanmar national football team

The Myanmar national team used to be among the top teams in Asia until the early 1970s. They won five consecutive editions of the Southeast Asian Games between 1965 and 1973 and the Asian Games in 1966 and 1970.[4] In 1968, the team finished runners-up at the AFC Asian Cup, only losing to Iran in the final.[5] Most notably, the Burmese national team, as it was called at the time, finished 9th at the 1972 Olympics in Munich after beating Sudan 2:0 and losing just 0:1 to later Bronze medalist Soviet Union. They did win the Fair Play Award at the Games.[6] The national team never qualified for a FIFA World Cup.

Women's national team

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Main article: Myanmar women's national football team

The national team is one of the most successful in South East Asia, sitting in the third place of the All-Time Table of the AFF Women's Championship, which they won twice (2004 and 2007). They qualified for the AFC Women's Asian Cup on five occasions, missing only three tournaments, but never made it past the group stages.

Football clubs in Myanmar

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Main article: List of football clubs in Myanmar

There are many football clubs in Myanmar, including a few professional clubs and a large number of amateur ones. Each state and division also has its own team organized by the respective local governments. In addition, several football teams were operated under various ministries of the Myanmar government. The state and division teams are still active, while the ministry teams competed from 1996 to 2009 in the Myanmar Premier League—also known as the Myanmar League—before it transitioned to a professional competition, now known as the Myanmar National League.

Football stadiums in Myanmar

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# Stadium City Capacity Tenants Image
1 Bogyoke Aung San Stadium Yangon 40,000
2 Thuwunna Stadium Yangon 32,000 National Team's Home Stadium
3 Mandalar Thiri Stadium Mandalay 30,000
4 Wunna Theikdi Stadium Naypyidaw 30,000
5 Bahtoo Stadium Mandalay 17,000
6 Paung Laung Stadium Naypyidaw 15,000
7 Zayyarthiri Stadium Naypyidaw 35,000 Myanmar Military
8 Dhanyawaddy Stadium Sittwe 7,000
9 Hpa-An Stadium Hpa-An 3,000
10 Magway Stadium Magway 7,000
11 Monywa Stadium Monywa 5,000
12 Padonmar Stadium Sanchaung,Yangon 3,000
13 Pathein Stadium Pathein 6,000 Ayeyawady United
14 Salin Stadium Kamayut,Yangon 8,000
15 Taunggyi Stadium Taunggyi 7,000 Shan United
16 Wai Thar Li Stadium Sittwe 7,000
17 Yamanya Stadium Mawlamyine 20,000
18 YUSC Stadium Hlaing,Yangon 3,500 Yangon United

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Myanmar". www.ocasia.org. Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  2. ^ a b Christian Gilberti (10 February 2020). "Did you know there was a golden age of Myanmar soccer?". www.myanmor.org. MyanMore. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  3. ^ "First Ladies' Football Match In The East". The Straits Times. 1926-09-14. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  4. ^ "Myanmar's football journey: From the streets of Yangon to international success". FIFA. 6 Apr 2023.
  5. ^ "Remembering Myanmar's Golden Age of football: The story of the White Angels". FIFA. 6 Apr 2023.
  6. ^ "After 40 years of pain, hope for Myanmar football". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda via AFP. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
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