Malaysian domestic football returns on 21 August 2026, when the 2026/27 Liga Super kicks off with a expanded 14-team field and Johor Darul Ta'zim beginning the defence of a record 12th league title. This is the 23rd season of the Malaysia Super League since its formation in 2004, and the 44th season of top-flight football in Malaysia.
If you follow only one competition in Malaysian sport this year, this is it. Below is the complete picture of what changes, who is involved and how to keep up with every match.
When does Liga Super 2026/27 start?
The season opens on Friday 21 August 2026, with the opening round spread across 21–23 August. That staggered matchday format is standard for the competition: fixtures are distributed across three days so that televised matches do not compete with one another for the same audience.
You can follow the confirmed schedule on our Liga Super fixtures page, which updates as the Malaysian Football League publishes and adjusts kick-off times. Completed matches move to the results page, and the standings are maintained on the Liga Super table.
The league expands to 14 teams
The headline structural change for 2026/27 is expansion. The Super League grows from 13 clubs to 14. That comes from a combination of promotion and a departure: twelve clubs continue from the 2025/26 season, two clubs arrive from the A1 Semi-Pro League, and one club, The Real Warriors, was ejected from the competition.
The two promoted sides are Kelantan Red Warrior and UM-Damansara United. Both step up from the second tier, and both arrive with the familiar challenge facing every promoted club in Malaysia: closing a significant resource gap on the established sides while adjusting to a longer, more demanding fixture list.
A 14-team league means a longer season and more matches overall. For supporters, the practical effect is more midweek football and a fuller calendar running through to May.
Who is playing in Liga Super 2026/27?
The fourteen clubs contesting the 2026/27 Malaysia Super League are:
- Johor Darul Ta'zim
- Selangor
- Terengganu
- Kuala Lumpur City
- Penang
- Kedah
- Negeri Sembilan
- Melaka
- Kuching City
- PDRM
- Immigration
- DPMM
- Kelantan Red Warrior (promoted)
- UM-Damansara United (promoted)
Each club's fixtures, results and squad information can be reached from the Liga Super hub.
Johor Darul Ta'zim start as champions again
JDT enter the season as defending champions, having secured a record 12th Super League title in 2025/26. Their sustained dominance is the defining storyline of modern Malaysian club football, and the central question of 2026/27 is a simple one: is there a challenger capable of turning a one-club league back into a competitive one?
The Southern Tigers' consistency has come from continuity of investment and squad stability at a level the rest of the division has struggled to match. Any realistic title challenge is likely to come from the clubs with the deepest squads and the most settled coaching setups.
Where to watch Liga Super 2026/27
Astro holds the Liga Malaysia broadcast rights, having renewed for a further three years. Coverage runs through Astro Arena Bola (channel 803) and Astro Arena Bola 2 (channel 804), with streaming available on sooka and Astro GO.
The broadcaster has been showing in the region of 228 matches live per season in high definition. Viewership across the two most recent Liga Malaysia seasons grew by more than 20%, reaching close to 24 million total views, which suggests the domestic game's audience is expanding rather than contracting.
TaxiSports does not stream matches. What we provide is the match centre around them: live scores, confirmed kick-off times in Malaysian time, results, standings and match data for every fixture in the competition.
How to follow every match
Our Liga Super section carries live scores as matches are played, with fixtures, results and the league table maintained throughout the season. Scores update live, so you can follow matches you cannot watch, and check final scores and standings the moment a round is complete.
Key dates at a glance
- 21 August 2026 — 2026/27 Liga Super begins
- 21–23 August 2026 — Matchday 1
- May 2027 — scheduled conclusion of the league season
The domestic calendar also includes the Malaysia Cup and Piala Presiden, which run alongside the league and add to the fixture load for clubs competing on multiple fronts.
How the Malaysian football calendar fits together
The Super League is the centrepiece, but it is not the whole season. Clubs also contest the Malaysia Cup, the country's principal knockout competition, and the Piala Presiden at development level. For the strongest squads there is continental football as well, which compresses the domestic schedule further.
Below the Super League sits the A1 Semi-Pro League, the second tier, from which Kelantan Red Warrior and UM-Damansara United were promoted this year. The tier below is where the next generation of Super League clubs is built, and the promotion route is the mechanism that keeps the top division from becoming closed.
The practical consequence for supporters is that a club's league form in April may say as much about fixture congestion and squad depth as it does about quality. Sides carrying a cup run into the closing months of the season are managing a very different workload from those focused on the league alone.
What to watch for in 2026/27
Can anyone reach JDT? Twelve titles, the most recent of them last season, is not a run that ends by accident. A genuine title race requires a challenger to sustain form across a longer 14-team campaign, not merely to beat the champions once.
How do the promoted clubs adapt? Kelantan Red Warrior and UM-Damansara United face the standard promotion test, made harder by an expanded fixture list. Early results will indicate whether either can establish themselves or whether both face a season of consolidation.
Does expansion improve the middle? Adding a fourteenth club lengthens the table. Whether it deepens the competition in the mid-table places, or simply stretches the distance between top and bottom, is the structural question of the season.
Frequently asked questions
When does Liga Super 2026/27 start?
The season begins on 21 August 2026, with the opening round played across 21–23 August.
How many teams are in Liga Super 2026/27?
Fourteen, up from thirteen the previous season. Twelve clubs continued, two were promoted, and one was ejected from the competition.
Who are the defending champions?
Johor Darul Ta'zim, who won a record 12th Malaysia Super League title in 2025/26.
Which clubs were promoted?
Kelantan Red Warrior and UM-Damansara United, both from the A1 Semi-Pro League.
Where can I watch Liga Super matches?
Astro holds the broadcast rights, showing matches on Astro Arena Bola (channel 803) and Astro Arena Bola 2 (channel 804), with streaming on sooka and Astro GO.
When does the season end?
The league season is scheduled to conclude in May 2027.
Sources
Fixture dates and kick-off times are subject to change by the Malaysian Football League. We update this page as the schedule is confirmed.
