Astro Expands Malaysian Football Offering

Astro has inked a pact with the Malaysian Football League (MFL) to become the official broadcaster of Liga Malaysia competitions from 2023 to 2025.

The partnership includes Astro’s coverage of Perlawanan Sumbangsih (Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah), Liga Super, Piala FA and Piala Malaysia for the next three seasons.

Euan Smith, group CEO of Astro, noted: “We are thrilled to be the official broadcaster for Liga Malaysia, truly cementing our position as the home of sports. We have always recognized the importance of sports in nation-building, and both Astro and MFL are committed to raising the bar for coverage of local football leagues from live games and behind-the-scenes training to updates on players and coaches and the latest football news benefiting sports fans across Malaysia.”

Smith continued: “Liga Malaysia will further strengthen our local sports offerings, which, in addition to our coverage of international sports—including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, La Liga, BWF, MotoGP, NBA, UFC, WWE, PGA Golf and majors, the ATP Tours and many more—make Astro the home of sports.”

Nicholas John, head of sports at Astro, added: “We will put our best talent forward and use our production resources to deliver comprehensive coverage of Liga Malaysia in HD, all of which will be streamed live on Astro GO to drive engagement for a league that has gifted players, great teams and passionate followers. Our coverage will be enriched with exclusive programs, including match analysis by pundits, pre-match press conferences, live training sessions, player access interviews, behind-the-scenes shows, match highlights and much more. Exciting on-ground activities will provide the opportunity for fans to experience their favorite sport on another level. Astro customers can also look forward to special rewards such as invitations to live games at the stadiums and opportunities to meet the players.”

Dato’ Ab Ghani Hassan, president of MFL, added: “MFL’s renewed partnership with Astro is a sign that Liga Malaysia is gaining more attraction and will further increase the profile of the league and the clubs that are competing. MFL has taken a big step when partnering with Astro, a well-known and respected broadcaster in promoting local football. On behalf of MFL, I am very grateful to Astro for taking this step with us, as we believe that with 14 elite teams competing in Liga Super and the creation of Piala MFL (Liga Simpanan) for players under 23 years old through the restructuring of Liga Malaysia, local fans can look forward to more excitement.”

Stuart Ramalingam, CEO of MFL, stated: “MFL took a big step last year by announcing the restructuring of Liga Malaysia, and we believe Astro is the ideal partner to broadcast more matches in the quality that fans have been looking for. Astro’s involvement this time will certainly increase the attraction and awareness of the development of Liga Malaysia and thus increase the commercial value of each match to strengthen the country’s football ecosystem to be enjoyed by many parties.”