Many of us did not knew how Burnley Cup was existed in Malaya. Everything was started on 25 January 1961 when Choo Seng Que, Malaya football team coach was sent by Tunku Abdul Rahman to England to study the techniques of football training in England. When Choo Seng Que arrived in England, he was sent by the English Football Association as a guest to Burnley Football Club and Sheffield Football Club to study the techniques of football training in England. He was invited by the Burnley Football Club and Sheffield Football Club to watch the match between their clubs against another football clubs. On 14 June 1961 when he was about to return to Malaya, he was awarded two trophies for the Malayan Football Association to host a local football competition. The trophies were the Burnley Cup for under 19 years old football competition and the other one was the Sheffield Trophy for under 15 years old football competition.
Burnley Football Club emblem.
Choo Seng Que
Upon returning to Malaya, Choo Seng Que handed both trophies to Football Association of Malaya. On 15 January 1962, Football Association of Malaya has decided to held a football match called the Burnley Cup participated by under 19 years old players representing their respective states. This match goes hand in hand with the Malayan Cup. However, in the event of overlapping place and time between the Malayan Cup and Burnley Cup, the Burnley Cup will be played first. The Burnley Cup competition has succeeded in sharpening the talents of young players before joining senior teams in their respective states. In fact, indirectly every state team including the Malaya team (later known as Malaysia) always has a reputable younger players. Then, the player's age requirement for the Burnley Cup has been raised to under 20 years old. The first winner of Burnley Cup was the Selangor team won against Perak with 4-2 scores at Kuala Lumpur.
Burnley Cup 1969 mini shield. It was held in Malacca.
Burnley Cup 1970 souvenir gift. It was held in Negeri Sembilan.
Burnley Cup 1970 match book.
Burnley Cup 1971. It was held in Sarawak.
From front, Burnley Cup 1971 winners medal won by Selangor player.
From back, Burnley Cup 1971 winners medal won by Selangor.
Later in 1973, the Burnley Cup name was changed to a new name known as the Razak Cup, in conjunction with the Malaysia Prime Minister name at that time, Tun Abdul Razak. The trophy also changed with a new trophy awarded by Tun Abdul Razak. However, the legacy of the Burnley Cup was continued by Razak Cup in producing younger players as the backbone of Malaysia and state football progress.
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