The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is the governing body for soccer in Malaysia, responsible for organising the Malaysian national football team and the major soccer tournaments within the country. Football arrived in Malaya with the British. The locals soon picked up the game, and before long it was the country's leading sport. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, football was one of the central pillars of most sports clubs in Malaya. But it was not structured. Even when the Selangor Amateur Football League took shape in 1905 – which ensured proper administration and organisation – the competition was confined only to clubs in the Kuala Lumpur area.

In 1921, a national tournament featuring all the states that made up Malaya was started. The competition, known as the Malaya Cup (later renamed the Malaysia Cup in 1963), is widely regarded as the most prestigious and has been held since then, except during the war years.

In 1926 the Selangor Amateur Football League was established, and in 1936 the Football Association of Selangor was formed. While the Selangor FA was moving towards organised football, and inspiring other states in Malaya to follow suit, the battleship HMS Malaya visited the country in 1920. After engaging local opposition in football and rugby, the officers and men of HMS Malaya decided to commemorate the matches by presenting trophies for annual competitions in both rugby and football in Malaya.