The Malaysia national football team () represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football team which was founded for the 1963 Merdeka Tournament one month before the institution of Malaysia. The team is officially nicknamed Harimau Malaya in reference to the Malayan Tiger. Consisting of the group of 4 teams (the other three being Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand) of Southeast Asia who have each won the ASEAN Football Championship at least once, having won it once, Malaysia has however failed to reach wins outside their region other than a bronze won at the Asian Games in 1974. Having participated in the Summer Olympics once and three AFC Asian Cups, the team has never progressed beyond the group stage. Malaysia's biggest opponents on the international stage are its geographical neighbours – Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore – with past matches produced and in particular, fixtures involving Indonesia being the most heated among these that corresponds to political and social issues, named as 'Nusantara Derby'. Since the 2010s, Malaysia significantly uses naturalised players of various different nationalities in an attempt to improve the prospects of its national football team. Etymology The Harimau Malaya nickname has been used by the team's predecessor, Malaya national football team. The nickname referred to the national animal of Malaysia, the Malayan tiger. Another source stated the name was believed to have been derived from a Malayan football player from Stulang Laut, Johor named Abdullah Mohd Don (Dollah Don). The player had been called "Harimau Malaya" by the founding father of Indonesia, Sukarno when he managed to equalise against an Indonesian football club by scoring a hat-trick in a match between Singaporean Malay Club and Peseja (Persija Jakarta) in 1953 after trailing 3 goals behind them. History Early years (1963–1969) Prior to 16 September 1963, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore were represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment Malaysia. Malaya and Singapore often competed in international competitions such as the Merdeka Tournament while North Borneo and Sarawak competed in Borneo Cup. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist of the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4–1 lead by Abdul Ghani Minhat, who at that time was the first Asian