# 2023 Malaysia M3 League

The 2023 Malaysia M3 League, known as the 2023 MBSB Bank Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of the MBSB Bank Championship, the second tier football league in Malaysia, since its establishment in 2019. The season lasted from March to October.

## Establishment and format

This new season saw the format restructuring by the Amateur Football League (AFL). On 19 January 2020, the AFL has announced the format changes for the Malaysia M3 League and Malaysia M4 League in preparation for the transition of the amateur team to semi-professionals by 2021.
The league will kick-off with 14 teams into one single group of league. The top four teams will play in the play-offs to determine which teams will qualify for promotion to the Super League in the 2024 season. The bottom two teams will be relegated to the M4 League.

## Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2022 season.

### Name changes

* Ultimate was renamed to Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor FC (Naga UKS).

## Teams

As of 29 December 2022, 14 clubs confirmed their participation in the 2023 Malaysia M3 League.
* Armed Forces
* Bukit Tambun
* BRM
* Harini
* Immigration
* Kuala Lumpur Rovers
* Malaysian University
* Manjung City
* Melaka
* Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor
* Perlis United
* PIB Shah Alam
* SAINS
* Sarawak United

## Club locations
### Venues

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Armed Forces | Kuala Lumpur | Mindef Stadium | 1,000 |
| BRM | Kuala Kangsar | Perak Stadium | 42,500 |
| Bukit Tambun | Bukit Tambun | Penang State Stadium | 40,000 |
| Harini | Kuala Selangor | UPM Stadium | 3,000 |
| Immigration | Putrajaya | UPM Stadium | 3,000 |
| Kuala Lumpur Rovers | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur Stadium | 16,000 |
| Malaysian University | Kuala Lumpur | UM Arena Stadium | 1,000 |
| Manjung City | Seri Manjung | Manjung Stadium | 15,000 |
| Melaka | Malacca City | Hang Jebat Stadium | 40,000 |
| Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor | Kuala Selangor | Kuala Selangor Stadium | 1,000 |
| Perlis United | Kangar | Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium | 20,000 |
| PIB Shah Alam | Shah Alam | USIM Stadium | 1,000 |
| SAINS | Seremban | Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium | 45,000 |
| Sarawak United | Kuching | Sarawak State Stadium | 20,000 |

## Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
| Armed Forces | Kevin Lee Cooper | Venice Elphi | AL Sports | MBSB Bank |
| BRM | Mohd Ali Khan Abdullah | Kamarul Effandi Abdul Rahim | AL Sports | Raudhah Islamic School Jasmin7 |
| Bukit Tambun | Mahamud Harun | Hafidz Romly | AL Sports | GIMmedia |
| Harini | P. Maniam | Norshahrul Idlan Talaha | Ma7ch | Harini MBSB Bank |
| Immigration | Mat Zan Mat Aris | Mohd Nasriq Baharom | Let's Play Performance | redONE MBSB Bank |
| Kuala Lumpur Rovers | Wan Mustaffa Wan Ismail | Firdaus Fauzi | Ma7ch | MBSB Bank |
| Malaysian University | Ridzuan Abu Shah | Amirul Fazly Zamri | Ma7ch | |
| Manjung City | Rafae Isa | Faizzzwan Dorahim | Cheetah | Majlis Perbandaran Manjung ANE Group |
| Melaka | Pedro Hipólito | Idris Ahmad | Puma | |
| Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor | Dusan Momcilovic | Mohamad Firdaus Yusof | AL Sports | |
| Perlis United | Azhar Abdul Rahman | Azizi Matt Rose | Ma7ch | SGT Power |
| PIB Shah Alam | Yusrizal Yusoff | Adam Syafiq Fuad | AL Sports | MBSB Bank |
| SAINS | Hamizar Hamzah | Alif Samsudin | Kaki Jersi | MBI Negeri Sembilan |
| Sarawak United | S. Balachandran | Nor Azizi Ramlee | AL Sports | Punggor Wibawa |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Immigration (C) | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 53 | 15 | +38 | 55 | |
| 2 | Kuala Lumpur Rovers | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 48 | 14 | +34 | 54 | Qualified to the 2023 Malaysia Cup |
| 3 | Harini | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 21 | +35 | 51 | Qualified to the 2023 Malaysia Cup |
| 4 | Bukit Tambun | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 45 | |
| 5 | SAINS | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 38 | Withdrawal from 2024–25 A1 Semi-Pro League |
| 6 | Malaysian University | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 36 | |
| 7 | Manjung City | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 34 | |
| 8 | Perlis United | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 32 | Withdrawal from 2024–25 A1 Semi-Pro League |
| 9 | PIB Shah Alam | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 31 | |
| 10 | Melaka | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 31 | |
| 11 | Armed Forces | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 26 | |
| 12 | Sarawak United | 24 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 18 | 80 | −62 | 4 | Withdrawal from 2024–25 A1 Semi-Pro League |
| 13 | Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor (R) | 24 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 14 | 100 | −86 | 3 | Relegation to the 2024 Al - Ikhsan Cup |
| 14 | BRM FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* 1 2 3 SAINS, Perlis United & Sarawak United withdrew from Liga M3 before the start of 2024 season.
* ↑ On 20 Jun 2023 AFL announced they accepted the withdrawal of BRM FC, based on the letter citing financial problems. AFL also announced all matches involving BRM FC were annulled.

### Position by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Immigration | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Kuala Lumpur Rovers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Harini | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Bukit Tambun | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| SAINS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Malaysian University | 10 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Manjung City | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Perlis United | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| PIB Shah Alam | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Melaka | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Armed Forces | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Sarawak United | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
* League Leader
* Qualified to 2023 Malaysia Cup
* Qualified to 2023 Malaysia Cup
* Relegation to Al-Ikhsan Cup

## Results table

| Home \ Away | ARM | BKT | BRM | HAR | IFC | KLR | MAU | MCT | MEL | NAG | PLU | PIB | KSR | SWU |
| Armed Forces | | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Bukit Tambun | 2–1 | | NIL | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| BRM | NIL | 0–4 | | NIL | 0–1 | NIL | 3–0 | NIL | NIL | NIL | NIL | 0–5 | NIL | NIL |
| Harini Selangor | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Immigration | 1–1 | 1–1 | NIL | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| Kuala Lumpur Rovers | 0–0 | 1–2 | NIL | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 6–1 |
| Malaysian University | 2–1 | 3–1 | NIL | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 |
| Manjung City | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | | 3–3 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Melaka | 0–2 | 1–0 | NIL | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Naga Ultimate Kuala Selangor | 0–6 | 1–2 | NIL | 0–8 | 0–6 | 0–5 | 1–10 | 1–3 | 1–7 | | 0–8 | 2–6 | 0–3 | 3–2 |
| Perlis United | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| PIB Shah Alam | 1–0 | 1–0 | NIL | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 6–1 |
| SAINS | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 3–2 |
| Sarawak United | 0–4 | 1–3 | NIL | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–4 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played on 21 October 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Azim Rahim | Immigration | 24 |
| 2 | Afeeq Iqmal | Manjung City | 13 |
| 2 | Zulkiffli Zakaria | Harini | 13 |
| 4 | Amer Saidin | KL Rovers | 12 |
| 5 | Khyril Muhymeen | Harini | 11 |
| 6 | Firdaus Azizul | Sains | 10 |
| 6 | Sadam Hashim | Perlis United | 10 |
| 8 | Ikhmal Ibrahim | Perlis United | 9 |
| 9 | Fakhrul Aiman Sidid | Melaka | 8 |
| 9 | Rafie Mat Yaccob | KL Rovers | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Alief Najmi Radzi | Malaysian University | Naga UKS FC | 1-10 (A) | 11 March 2023 |
| Syukur Saidin | Bukit Tambum | BRM Kuala Kangsar | 0-4 (A) | 6 May 2023 |
| Ikhmal Ibrahim | Perlis United | Naga UKS | 0-8 (A) | 20 May 2023 |
| Sadam Hashim | Perlis United | Naga UKS | 0-8 (A) | 20 May 2023 |
| Afeeq Iqmal | Manjung City | Sarawak United | 0-4 (A) | 10 June 2023 |
| Azim Rahim$^4$ | Immigration | Naga UKS | 0-6 (A) | 24 June 2023 |
| Fauzi Kadar | Bukit Tambun | Manjung City | 2-3 (A) | 8 July 2023 |
| Khyril Muhymeen | Harini | Armed Forces | 3-1 (H) | 15 August 2023 |
| Azim Rahim | Immigration | PIB Shah Alam | 3-0 (H) | 2 September 2023 |
| Zulkiffli Zakaria | Harini | Naga UKS | 0-8 (A) | 4 September 2023 |
| Amirul Nizam | PIB | Naga UKS | 2-6 (A) | 14 October 2023 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals $^5$ Player scored 5 goals (H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

    As of 21 October 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Ameerul Eqwan Fauzi | KL Rovers | 14 |
| 2 | Firdaus Suhaimi | Manjung | 8 |
| 3 | Hafizul Hakim | Harini | 7 |
| 3 | Izarul Adli | Immigration | 7 |
| 4 | Ashraf Fadhil | Malaysian University | 6 |
| 4 | Kaharuddin Rahman | Sains | 6 |
| 7 | Solehin Mamat | Immigration | 5 |
| 7 | Shahrizan Shafiq | Armed Forces | 5 |
| 9 | Hafidz Romly | Bukit Tambun | 4 |
| 9 | Hafiz Abu Bakar | Perlis | 4 |
| 9 | Izzat Abdul Rahim | PIB Shah Alam | 4 |
| 9 | Wan Azraie | PIB Shah Alam | 4 |
| 13 | Asri Muhamad | Perlis United | 2 |
| 13 | Nasrullah Aziz | Melaka | 2 |
| 15 | Amar Haziq | Malaysian University | 1 |
| 15 | Asfa Abiddin | Bukit Tambun | 1 |
| 15 | Hafizudin Azuhar | Armed Forces | 1 |
| 15 | Daniel Wafiuddin | Melaka | 1 |
| 15 | Izzat Hakimi | Sains | 1 |