Selamat Menyambut Hari Kebangsaan ke-69!

Kancah bola sepak Malaysia tentunya telah berkembang pesat sejak Tunku Abdul Rahman menerajui pembangunan. Beliau bukan sahaja Perdana Menteri pertama negara kita malah juga Presiden FAM pertama yang bukan berketurunan British. 

Tunku yang melancarkan pembinaan Stadium Merdeka, dan menjadikannya rumah kejohanan bola sepak jemputan tertua di Asia, Pestabola Merdeka. Walaupun Stadium Merdeka pada mulanya dicadangkan sebagai lambang kemerdekaan, stadium keramat tersebut menjadi pemangkin kepada pembangunan sukan tanah air serta zaman kegemilangan bola sepak Malaysia. 

Pestabola Merdeka menjadi kejohanan yang sangat berprestij dan berjaya menarik minat skuad-skuad terbaik rantau Asia, pasukan dari Afrika, serta kelab-kelab dari Eropah dan Amerika Selatan. Gelanggang tersebut telah menyatukan rakyat Malaysia untuk mempamerkan semangat patriotisme negara sambil bersorak untuk Harimau Malaya. 

Sejak itu, Malaysia telah melahirkan bintang bola sepak seperti Abdul Ghani Minhat, Edwin Dutton, Robert Choe, Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Shukor Salleh, Santokh Singh, R. Arumugam, Namat & Shaharuddin Abdullah, Isa & Ali Bakar, N. Thanabalan, James Wong, Hassan Sani dan ramai lagi.

Legasi Lagenda akan terus mengiktirafkan sumbangan legenda-legenda sukan negara dan memartabatkan sejarah sukan Malaysia kita sebagai inspirasi bagi generasi muda dan yang akan datang.

Foto menunjukkan Stadium Merdeka pada era 1960an, skuad Malaya 1958, dan program edisi pertama Pestabola Merdeka 1957 yang kini berada di arkib Legasi Lagenda.

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Malaysian football has grown exponentially since Tunku Abdul Rahman was at the helm. Not only was he our first Prime Minister but also the first FAM President of non-British descent. 

It was because of him that the iconic Stadium Merdeka was built, which then hosted Asia’s oldest invitational football competition, the Merdeka Tournament. Stadium Merdeka has witnessed everything from the glory days of Malaysian football to our nation’s sport development since its inception. While it was the home to the Merdeka Tournament, it also brought Malaysians together to show their patriotic spirit as they cheered on Harimau Malaya. 

Initially proposed in commemoration of Malaya’s independence, the Merdeka Tournament grew to be a prestigious tournament with participants from Asia’s best squads, African countries as well as clubs from Europe and South America. 

Since then, Malaysia has birthed legendary football stars such as Abdul Ghani Minhat, Edwin Dutton, Robert Choe, Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Shukor Salleh, Santokh Singh, R. Arumugam, Namat & Shaharuddin Abdullah, Isa & Ali Bakar, N. Thanabalan, James Wong, Hassan Sani and many more. 

Legasi Lagenda will continue honouring our national sports legends and recognise their contributions in order to uphold our Malaysian sports history for generations to come. 

Happy 69th Independence Day, Malaysia.

Photo shows Stadium Merdeka during the 1960s, the 1960 Malaya football team, and first edition of the 1957 Merdeka Tournament programme, which we have in our archive.