2013 Malaysia Premier League
The 2013 Liga Premier also known as the Astro Liga Premier for sponsorship reasons is the 10th season of the Liga Premier, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia.
The season was held from 7 January and concluded in 5 July 2013.
The Liga Premier champions for 2013 season was Sarawak. The champions and runners-up were both promoted to 2014 Liga Super.
Changes from last season
Team changes
To Liga Premier
;Promoted from Liga FAM;Relegated from Liga Super
- Sarawak
- Kedah
- Sabah
- Kuala Lumpur
From Liga Premier
;Relegated to Liga FAM
- MB Johor Bahru
Team withdrawing
- MP Muar
- USM
- MB Johor Bahru
Teams
FAM later decided to withdraw Harimau Muda B from the league and register them in the 2013 S.League, replacing Harimau Muda A who pulled out of the S.League to embark on a tour of friendly matches in Europe, and preparing them for the 2013 Southeast Asian Games. Perlis, who originally were relegated after finishing second bottom in 2012 Liga Premier, were reinstated in the league as a result of the withdrawal.
Kuala Lumpur were relegated from 2012 Liga Super after finishing the season in the last place of the 14-team league table. Sarawak, Kedah and Sabah were also relegated after losing in the play-offs.
2012 Malaysia FAM League champions SPA secured direct promotion to this season Liga Premier. Meanwhile UiTM, the 3rd-place team in FAM League, were invited to replace USM FC, who were withdrawing from Liga Premier due to financial difficulties.
Team summaries
Stadium
Personnel and sponsoring
Team | Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
Betaria | Azuan Zain | Muhd Shahrul Nizam Abdul Hamid | Adidas | |
Johor | Azmi Mohamed | Mohd Farid Ramli | Kappa | Iskandar Regional Development Authority |
Kedah | Marijo Tot | Baddrol Bakhtiar | Line 7 | PKNK |
Kuala Lumpur | Stanislav Lievkosky | Azizon Abdul Kadir | Kronos | Rising Sun Travel & Tours |
Perlis | Yunus Alif | Emmanuel Okine | Warriors | |
PDRM | R. Nalathamby | Mohd Afif Amiruddin | Line 7 | |
Pos Malaysia | G. Torairaju | Abdullah Yusoff | Kappa | Pos Malaysia |
Sabah | David McCreery | Rhys Weston | Adidas | Grace One |
Sarawak | Robert Alberts | Mohd Shahrol Saperi | Starsports | NAIM Holdings Berhad |
Sime Darby | Ismail Zakaria | Kappa | Sime Darby | |
SPA | Mohd Nizam Jamil | Sazali Suwandi | Kappa | |
UiTM | Azman Eusoff | Umbro | Ministry of Higher Education |
Coaching changes
Pre-season
Foreign players
Club | Visa 1 | Visa 2 | Asian Players |
Betaria | Tomáš Chovanec | Hillary Echesa | - |
Johor | Muriel Orlando | Ezaquiel Gallegos | - |
Kedah | Nelson San Martín | Alen Guć | - |
Kuala Lumpur | Kalle Sone | - | |
Perlis | Denny Antwi | Emmanuel Okine | - |
PDRM | Edrisar Kaye | Mohamadou Sumareh | - |
Pos Malaysia | - | - | - |
Sabah | Abdulfatah Safi | Koh Traore | - |
Sarawak | Guy Bwele | Muamer Salibasic | - |
Sime Darby | Karlo Primorac | Togaba Kontiwa Komlan | - |
SPA | Joël Tchami | Eddy Viator | - |
UiTM | Koforowola Hameed Adewumi | - | - |
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
1 | Bobby Gonzales | Sarawak | 20 |
2 | Muriel Orlando | Johor | 17 |
3 | Koh Traore | Sabah | 15 |
4 | Mohd Saufi Ibrahim | Pos Malaysia | 12 |
5 | Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri | Kedah | 9 |
5 | Mohd Farid Ideris | Johor | 9 |
6 | Khairul Izuan Abdullah | PDRM | 8 |
7 | Muhd Khairul Akhyar Hussain | PDRM | 7 |
8 | Alen Guć | Kedah | 6 |
Own goals
Clean sheets
- Most clean sheets:
- Fewest clean sheets: