- Home >
- Football >
- From Saving Johor Football to Chasing History: TMJ’s JDT on the Verge of a World Record
From Saving Johor Football to Chasing History: TMJ’s JDT on the Verge of a World Record
Under the leadership of Tunku Ismail Idris, Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim have gone from local hopefuls to record-chasing giants of Southeast Asian football.
This Malaysian club is on the verge of breaking a world record.
Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) are closing in on global football history after equalling the second-longest unbeaten league run ever recorded. The Southern Tigers now sit just five matches away from setting a new world record - a remarkable achievement for a team whose modern era only began a little over a decade ago.
JDT have gone 104 league matches unbeaten, matching the streak set by Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest, and now sit just four games short of the all-time record of 108 held by Ivory Coast’s ASEC Mimosas since 1994. Avoid defeat in their next five matches, and the Malaysian champions will stand alone in world football history.
Much of this success can be traced back to the vision of club owner Tunku Ismail Idris. In 2013, the Crown Prince answered calls to save Johor football, taking charge of the club and launching an ambitious project built on investment in facilities, youth development, sports science, and professional management.
The transformation has been extraordinary.
Since the start of their rise to prominence, JDT have dominated Malaysian football, winning 12 Malaysia Super League titles along with multiple Malaysia Cups, FA Cups, and Charity Cups, while also making history on the continental stage.
They became the first Malaysian side to win the AFC Cup in 2015, and remain the only Southeast Asian club to lift the trophy. More recently, JDT reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia’s premier club competition, underlining their ambitions beyond domestic success.
Their dominance at home has been just as impressive as their rise in Asia. JDT have not lost in domestic competition since November 2021, a run that now stretches well past 100 matches, while their 12 consecutive league titles remain one of the longest active streaks in world football.
Now, with a chance to break a record that has stood for more than three decades, JDT are not only dominating Malaysian football, but also closing in on a place in world football history.
