with their Crown Prince to “save Johor football” and HRH Tunku Ismail, an avid football fan himself, took it upon himself to attend a football match at the Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium in Larkin. Far from pleased by what he saw, the Prince decided to revamp, rebrand and rescue Johor’s ailing football state. The rest was history, literally. Among the immediate actions taken included setting up a special task force to monitor bookies, players, coaches, staff and just about everyone associated with Johor football. A major restructuring saw the consolidation of all football entities – including Johor FA, Johor FC and other district teams – under one roof, JDT. Development teams were established, namely JDT II, III and IV, to help grow JDT into a truly professional football set-up similar to many top teams around the world. A unifying name ‘Southern Tigers’ was adopted as HRH Tunku Ismail also saw the MARKET ACHIEVEMENTS opportunity to unite an entire State through the Johor Darul Ta’zim Football Club (JDT) is a JDT have won a record five straight Malaysia country’s most popular sport, football. The idea is to form a unity in this state by supporting a sports brand which was rebranded in late 2012 Super League titles, three Charity Cups, 2016 club of their own. by His Royal Highness Major General Tunku FA Cup, 2017 Malaysia Cup and, their crowning In 2013, the first year of rebranding, there are Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of moment in Asia, the 2015 AFC Cup – a first for many ups and downs. The club lost their first Johor. His Royal Highness’ mission and vision a club from East Asia, let alone Southeast Asia. final cup match and finish third in the league. is to take the club to the next level and to bring They went the entire 2016 Super League 2014 was the first time the club won the back the glory days. Malaysian football has been campaign unbeaten and have not suffered Super League title and the club’s first ever volatile for a long time, with effects lasting to this a home league defeat since April 2012 – an winners medal. Since then the club have won very day, but if there was one ‘project’ that has incredible 73 matches! every year. Winning the Charity Cup, Malaysia renewed faith and the ambition of the people, it Things are only expected to get better in the Super league and AFC Cup in 2015. Then in is the seismic rebuilding in Johor. next couple of years with the completion of the 2016, the club won Charity Cup, FA Cup and Johor’s football has seen some glorious days new state-of-the-art Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Malaysia Super League. In 2017, winning the but that famous double in 1991 remained a AFC Champions League football and talks of an Malaysia Super League and Malaysia Cup. distant memory for many, including the Crown even more advanced training ground to elevate Prince of Johor himself. It simply lacked the the club to a higher standing. passion, muscle and vision prior to HRH Tunku PRODUCT Ismail kick-starting a revolution that has grown HISTORY Keen to bring JDT to the world, the Prince by leaps and bounds. Today, JDT are one of It is the place to be in Malaysian football and has taken a few different approaches to put JDT Southeast Asia’s most ambitious clubs with the number of high profile transfers of Malaysian on the football map. facilities that rival some of the best teams in the players to JDT is a testament of that. From the The club signed Spain’s 2008 European continent and the success has been flowing. likes of former Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim to Championship winner Dani Guiza in 2013 While 2019 will see JDT achieve targets it had Amri Yahyah, Safawi Rasid and Natxo Insa, the and renowned Argentinean midfielder Pablo set out at the very beginning, it will be far from club have attracted just about every big local Aimar the following season. Fellow Argentine a surprise if JDT continue to raise eyebrows in name out there. international and once an Olympic winner coming years. The sky is the limit for JDT under There is no other club in Malaysia which Luciano Figueroa was also signed in 2014. HRH Tunku Ismail’s leadership, for he is said to provides such facilities and support system Guiza and Aimar captivated the crowd for be never satisfied with the accomplishments for the players. HRH Tunku Ismail also adopts several months while Figueroa went on to of the club, always wanting them to go further a very hands-on approach to keep the club in achieve greater things. than before. It is that ideology that has seen the check. Interestingly the catalyst for all this was a Figueroa was instrumental in JDT’s historic Southern Tigers grow into one of the leading hockey tournament that HRH Tunku Ismail had AFC Cup triumph and still remains with the club teams in Southeast Asia. attended in Johor. Fans at the stadium pleaded to this very day, albeit in a different role. Figueroa 36 | SUPERBRANDS VOLUME X had ambassador and director roles prior to Excellent personal ties with business magnate fans while the reserve teams enjoy similar being installed as manager in August 2018. and Valencia owner Peter Lim saw the JDT- facilities at Padang Mawar in Pasir Gudang. Those signings, however, were just the tip of Valencia CF Football Academy being set-up in The construction of the new Sultan Ibrahim the iceberg. 2017. Johor are already reaping benefits after Stadium, meanwhile, started in 2016 and is HRH Tunku Ismail’s connection in the finishing top of the 2018 Malaysian Schools expected to be completed in 2019. Inspired by football world has seen the Southern Tigers Sports Council (MSSM) Football Tournament. the ‘Bird’s Nest’ in Beijing, the stadium is set to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names A total of 47 of the 52 players that represented be the most advanced stadium in the region and around - Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester Johor came from the JDT-Valencia CF Football will rival some of the best stadiums in Asia. The City, Valencia, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Academy. Johor won the Under-15 and new stadium is built on a 140,000-metre square Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are just a few Under-18 categories in a convincing manner land and will accommodate a capacity of 40,000 to name. while the Under-12s reached the last eight. spectators. JDT’s headquarters, a training centre Globally acclaimed stars and souvenir shop will also be in the vicinity. Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Juan Sebastian PROMOTION Veron, Gerard Pique and many The brand mostly promotes itself via website more influential people in the and social media platforms. The club is actively world of football have been engaged with fans through Facebook, Instagram, seen associating with either Twitter and an official website and, in addition, JDT or HRH Tunku Ismail the club usually holds such events during a himself. Manchester United’s home matchday and selected away matches. famous Class of ‘92 members Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville too have visited BRAND VALUES The club committed to be a sustainable and Johor in recent times. glorious football club along with the guidance Those meetings have been and leadership of HRH Crown Prince of Johor. far from social visits. HRH Tunku Facilities are not the only thing constantly on Ismail has made it a point to the rise at JDT. discuss football to learn of ways Success on the pitch is enjoying a similar to further improve JDT and the growth rate and another milestone the club best practices of the sport. are set for in 2019 is participation in the AFC Such is JDT’s reach that Cardiff City owner RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Champions League, which is Asia’s premier Vincent Tan and a business partner of world- Development is something HRH Tunku Ismail club tournament. renowned football super-agent Jorge Mendes has strongly emphasised, and state of the art HRH Tunku Ismail had long announced his were among those present to watch JDT lift facilities are another cornerstone to that creed. ambition to take JDT to the Champions League their 2017 league title. Congratulatory messages The Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium as he wanted the Southern Tigers to compete were seen on digital boards all the way in England in Larkin was given a new look after refurbishment at the highest level with top teams from Japan, during the Carabao Cup tie between Chelsea work and the pitch today is arguably the best in Korea, Australia, Middle East and more. and Nottingham Forest and later the English the country. Upgrading works also took place JDT’s performance in the AFC Cup from Premier League match between Leicester City at Majlis Perbandaran Pasir Gudang Stadium, 2015-2017 helped Malaysia improve its member and Liverpool, all because of excellent foreign Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Mini Stadium association ranking in the eyes of the Asian ties. and Kulai Mini Stadium to provide a better Football Confederation (AFC), thus guaranteeing HRH Tunku Ismail also showcased JDT to environment, not just for the senior team but all the Super League winners a direct route into the the world when he spoke at the 2016 World teams under the JDT banner. competition starting 2019. Football Summit. Yet those enhancements are really child’s play Understanding the need for proper compared to the other facilities introduced.