 | |||
| Full name | Yangon United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lions | ||
| Founded | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) asAir Bagan 2009; 16 years ago (2009) asYangon United | ||
| Ground | Yangon United Sports Complex | ||
| Capacity | 3,500 | ||
| Owner | Tay Za[1] | ||
| President | Pye Phyo Tayza[2] | ||
| Head coach | Frank Bernhardt | ||
| League | Myanmar National League | ||
| 2023 | Myanmar National League, 2nd of 12 | ||
 Current season | |||
Yangon United Football Club (Burmese:ရန်ကုန် ယူနိုက်တက် ဘောလုံးအသင်း[jàɰ̃ɡòʊɰ̃]) is a Burmesefootball club, based atYangon United Sports Complex, inYangon,Myanmar. Owned byTay Za, a prominent Burmese businessman, the club was one of eight teams that participated in the inaugural edition of theMyanmar National League in2009, where they finished as runners-up. The club have won a record of 5league titles, 3General Aung San Shield and 3MFF Charity Cup.
Yangon United's biggest rivals areYadanarbon with whom they contest theMyanmar rivalry. However, due to Yadanarbon's decline, Yangon United's main rivals are nowShan United, in which now they contest in the new Myanmar National League derby.
On 18 July 2007, the chairman ofHtoo Group Of Companies announced to established a football club. So the company took over a first division club,Viva Football Cllub and changed the name toAir Bagan Football Club which competed in the 2007–2008 season. Air Bagan became champions of the first division in their first debut year in which the club sees themselves being promoted to the top division,Air Bagan competed in the2008 Myanmar Premier League season and finished in the top half of the table.[3]
After the league was transformed to the nation's first professional football league, Air Bagan was renamed toYangon United in 2009 and represented the seven million population in Yangon. Yangon United also formed an alliance with Thailand club,BEC Tero Sasana.
On 16 May 2009, Yangon United defeatedZeya Shwe Myay 4–0 in the league's second ever match to open theMNL Cup 2009. The club finished in second place in group play with 16 points. Yangon United lost toYadanarbon in the final onpenalty shootout after a 2–2 draw. During the 2010 season, Yangon United built an artificial turf football pitch and gymnasium.
In 2010, Yangon United built their training ground and gymnasium. Yangon United Gymnasium is the first gym among theMyanmar National League clubs.
In 2011, Yangon United won their first everMyanmar National League title and also became the champions of the2011 General Aung San Shield. This is the first time in Myanmar football history that a club has won both the league title and the cup. The following year In 2012, Yangon United appointed Bulgarian coach,Ivan Kolev for the2012 season in which he helped the club to won their second consecutive Myanmar National League title and qualified for the2013 AFC Cup.[citation needed]
In 2013, Yangon United signed with Grand Sport as their main kit supplier. Yangon United make their debut in the 2013 AFC Cup being placed Group F with Maldives league champions,New Radiant SC, Hong Kong club,Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei and Indonesian cup winners,Persibo Bojonegoro. The Lions put up a fiery display in the tournament winning five games and only losing once thus finishing the group stage as runner-ups with 3 goals difference away from group leaders, New Radiant which see them both through to theRound of 16 for the first time in the club history. Yangon United than travelled to India to faceEast Bengal on 15 May 2013 at their home ground,Salt Lake Stadium which unfortunately saw the club losing 5-1 thus exiting out from the tournament. However, on the bright side,Ivan Kolev guided the club to retained their league title in which they won their third consecutiveMyanmar National League title.
Yangon United again qualified for the2014 AFC Cup where they faced Vietnamese cup winners,Vissai Ninh Bình, Hong Kong league champions,South China and Malaysian club,Kelantan. The club performed magnificently in the tournament as they went on to finished as group runner-ups winning 3 times and losing 3 games in which the club qualified for theRound of 16 tie against Indonesian club,Persipura Jayapura in which they suffered their heaviest defeat in their history losing 9–2 at theMandala Stadium.
The2014 season saw the club finishing 2nd in the league, 4 points behind champions,Yadanarbon which saw their three consecutive league title streaks come to an end. However, the club managed to get hold of the league title in the2015 season winning their fourth league title in the club history and also seeing them qualified to the2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off where they faced Thailand club,Chonburi losing 3–2 in extra time.
In 2018, Yangon United won their fifth league title finishing as champions with 1 point ahead of league rivals,Shan United. The club winning the league as champions saw them qualified for the2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs facing against Philippines club,Ceres–Negros which The Lions won the match 2–1 progressing on to the next stage to face Thailand club,Chiangrai United losing 3–1 in the process thus exiting from the qualifying play-off and being dropped to the2019 AFC Cup.
Yangon United would go on and dominate for long periods, until 2019, when they gave up the trophy t domestic rivals,Shan United where Yangon United ended up with an unconvincing2020 Myanmar National League finishing 4th. Yangon United also participated in the2020 AFC Cup where they would go on to draw 2–2 against Vietnamese sideHồ Chí Minh City on 11 February. In the next match against Laotian sideLao Toyota, Yangon United went on to collect their first three points in a 3–2 win on 25 February. In their third fixtures against Singaporean sideHougang United on 10 March,Than Paing break the deadlock in the 81th minute scoring the only goal in the match. However, the AFC Cup got cancelled throughout the season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
In the2022 Myanmar National League season, they finished second place behind Shan United. Their top scorer wasValci Júnior who scored 8 goals in that season.
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Title Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–2012 |  FBT | Air Bagan |
| 2013–2021 | Grand Sport | FNI insurance |
| 2023 |  M21 | AGD Bank |
| 2024– | Glory Sport |
Yangon United have been using theThuwunna Stadium ever since their establishment as a professional football club in 2009. Thuwunna Stadium is amulti-purpose stadium located inYangon,Myanmar which it was constructed with the help from theJapanese government. When the stadium was completed in 1985 it had a capacity of up to 50,000 people. In 2013, the stadium underwent a major renovation and was expanded to host2013 Southeast Asian Games football matches. Yangon United than moved out to their new build home ground, theYangon United Sports Complex which is anartificial turf where it was much easier to maintain and low cost rents. The new stadium is 18 minutes drive away from their old Stadium but the club would often use their Thuwunna Stadium forAFC Cup games to match the AFC stadium requirements.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Frank Bernhardt |
| Assistant coach | Myo Hlaing Oo Kyaw Soe Oo Khin Maung Lwin |
| Goalkeeping coach | Aung Ye Thway |
| Team Officer | Yan Aung Kyaw |
Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club in the league games (players inbold signifies current Yangon United F.C. player).
| Player | Period | Goals | Ratio | Caps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cézar | 2012–2015, 2017 | 118 | 1.06 | 111 |
| 2 | Kyaw Ko Ko | 2013–2019 | 58 | 0.42 | 139 |
| 3 |  Sylla Sekou | 2018–2019, 2023 | 57 | 0.85 | 67 |
| 4 |  Charles Obi | 2010–2011 | 31 | 1.11 | 28 |
| 5 | Emerson | 2014–2015, 2017, 2021 | 31 | 0.46 | 68 |
| 6 | Maung Maung Lwin | 2017–2021 | 27 | 0.38 | 72 |
| 7 | Emmanuel Uzochukwu | 2017–2018, 2020–2021 | 20 | 0.61 | 33 |
| Player | Period | Caps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Htan | 2009–2018, 2022– | 285 | 8 |
| 2 | Yan Aung Kyaw | 2009–2020 | 246 | 3 |
| 3 | Kyi Lin | 2009–2019, 2020 | 178 | 15 |
| 4 | Khin Maung Lwin | 2009–2015 | 154 | 5 |
| 5 | Kyaw Ko Ko | 2013–2019 | 139 | 58 |
| 6 | Zaw Min Tun | 2015–2017, 2018 | 133 | 7 |
| 7 | Myo Min Tun | 2009–2013 | 121 | 0 |
| 8 | Cézar | 2012–2015, 2017 | 111 | 118 |
| 9 | Aung Aung Oo | 2009–2013 | 110 | 0 |
| 10 | Kyaw Zin Htet | 2017–2020 | 87 | 0 |
| 11 | San Set Naing | 2017– | 84 | 0 |
| 12 |  Kekere Moukailou | 2017–2019 | 75 | 6 |
All results (home and away) list Yangon United's goal tally first.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | AFC Cup | Group G | Chonburi | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4th |
 Citizen AA | 1–2 | 1–2 | ||||
 Home United | 0–0 | 1–3 | ||||
| 2013 | AFC Cup | Group F |  New Radiant | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2nd |
| Sun Hei | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||||
 Persibo Bojonegoro | 3–0 | 7–1 | ||||
| Round of 16 |  East Bengal | 1–5 | ||||
| 2014 | AFC Cup | Group G |  Vissai Ninh Bình | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2nd |
| South China | 2–0 | 3–5 | ||||
 Kelantan | 5–3 | 3–2 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Persipura Jayapura | 2–9 | ||||
| 2015 | Mekong Club Championship | First round |  Lao Toyota | 5–2 | 2nd | |
 Boeung Ket Angkor | 0–3 | |||||
| 2016 | AFC Champions League | Preliminary round 2 | Chonburi | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | ||
| AFC Cup | Group G | South China | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3rd | |
| Maziya | 3–2 | 1–1 | ||||
| Mohun Bagan | 1–1 | 2–3 | ||||
| 2018 | AFC Cup | Group G | Bali United | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1st |
| FLC Thanh Hóa | 2–1 | 3–3 | ||||
 Global Cebu | 3–0 | 1–2 | ||||
| Zonal semi-finals | Ceres–Negros | 3–2 | 2–4 | 5–6 | ||
| 2019 | AFC Champions League | Preliminary round 1 | Ceres–Negros | 2–1 | ||
| Preliminary round 2 | Chiangrai United | 1–3 | ||||
| AFC Cup | Group F | Tampines Rovers | 1–3 | 3–4 | 3rd | |
| Nagaworld | 2–0 | 1–2 | ||||
| Hà Nội | 2–5 | 1–0 | ||||
| 2020 | AFC Cup | Play-off round |  Indera | 3–1 | 6–1 | 9–2 |
| Group F | Hồ Chí Minh City | 2–2 | 2nd | |||
| Lao Toyota | 3–2 | |||||
| Hougang United | 1–0 | |||||
| 2023–24 | AFC Cup | Preliminary round 2 | DPMM | 2–1 | ||
| Play-off round | PSM Makassar | 0–4 | ||||
| Season | League | League Cup | Top goalscorer | Manager | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Name | Goals | |||
| 2009–10 | 1st | 4 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 16 | 23 | ||||
| 2010 | 1st | 3 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 12 | 39 | ||||
| 2011 | 1st | 1 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 15 | 54 | Winners | |||
| 2012 | 1st | 1 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 64 | 25 | 60 | Semi-finals | Cézar | 15 |  Ivan Kolev |
| 2013 | 1st | 1 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 20 | 49 | Cancelled | Cézar | 20 | |
| 2014 | 1st | 2 | 22 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 60 | 22 | 46 | Quarter-finals | Cézar | 26 |  Eric Williams |
| 2015 | 1st | 1 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 62 | 28 | 54 | 2nd round | Cézar | 28 | Tin Maung Tun |
| 2016 | 1st | 2 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 25 | 40 | Runners-up | Kyaw Ko Ko | 13 | Myo Min Tun |
| 2017 | 1st | 2 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 11 | 52 | Runners-up | Kyaw Ko Ko | 9 | Myo Min Tun |
| 2018 | 1st | 1 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 54 | 20 | 51 | Winners | Sylla Sekou | 28 | Myo Min Tun Maung |
| 2019 | 1st | 3 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 40 | 15 | 43 | Winners | Sylla Sekou | 10 | Tin Maung Tun |
| 2020 | 1st | 4 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 18 | 37 | Emmanuel Uzochukwu & Ernest Barfo | 8 | Min Tun Lin | |
| 2022 | 1st | 2 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 8 | 39 | Valci Júnior | 8 | Min Tun Lin | |
| 2023 | 1st | 2 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 57 | 13 | 51 | Sekou SyllaYan Kyaw Htwe | 11 | Gerd Zeise | |
| 2024 | 1st | ||||||||||||
Runners-up (1):2016
