Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C.

Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club, better known as JDT, is a professional football club based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, competing in the Malaysia Super League, the country's top flight. Founded in 1972 as PKENJ FC, the club went through a few name changes before settling on its current identity in 2013. The driving force behind the modern JDT is Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor, whose ownership has transformed the club into a regional powerhouse.

The breakthrough came in 2014, when Croatian coach Bojan Hodak led JDT to their first league title. The following year, under Argentine manager Mario Gómez, they achieved something no Malaysian club had done before: winning the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier continental competition. That triumph made JDT the first Malaysian team to lift a continental trophy, and only the second to reach a major continental final since 1967. From 2014 through 2026, JDT reeled off twelve straight league championships, a streak unmatched in Malaysian football history, where no team had previously won more than two in a row since the league's inception in 1982.

Nicknamed the Southern Tigers (Harimau Selatan in Malay), a nod to the Johor state coat of arms, JDT play their home matches at the 40,000-seat Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. A 2016 Statista report identified JDT as the most supported club in the Malaysia Super League and the second most popular football club in the country overall, trailing only Manchester United. The club's blend of domestic dominance and continental ambition has made them a defining force in Southeast Asian football. [edit]

JDT's roots go back to 1972, when the club was formed as PKENJ FC under the Johor state economic development corporation. For decades it was a modest provincial side, oscillating between divisions and rarely threatening the country's elite. That all changed in 2013 when Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor, took ownership and rebranded the club as Johor Darul Ta'zim. His investment and vision were immediate: within a year, Croatian coach Bojan Hodak delivered the club's first Malaysia Super League title in 2014, ending a long domestic drought.

The following year, Argentine manager Mario Gómez guided JDT to the AFC Cup final, where they beat FC Istiklol of Tajikistan 1-0 in Dushanbe. That victory made JDT the first Malaysian club ever to win a continental trophy, and only the second to reach a major Asian final since 1967. The club hasn't looked back. From 2014 through 2026, they won twelve consecutive league titles, a streak no other Malaysian team has come close to matching. Along the way, JDT also lifted the Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup multiple times, establishing themselves as serial winners on every domestic front.

The club's infrastructure has kept pace with its ambition. In 2020, JDT moved into the 40,000-seat Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, a state-of-the-art venue that has hosted high-profile friendlies, including a 3-3 draw against Chelsea in August 2026. That match, part of Chelsea's pre-season tour, saw JDT compete toe-to-toe with one of England's biggest clubs, underscoring how far the Southern Tigers have come from their PKENJ days. [edit]