Johor Darul Ta'zim, the Anomaly of Professional Football Clubs in Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia—where football is immensely popular—professional clubs with adequate facilities such as their own stadiums and independent training centers are few and far between. In fact, they can be counted on one hand. Johor Darul Ta’zim is one of the exceptional teams that already possesses top-notch facilities akin to those of the giant European clubs.

Johor Darul Ta’zim, also known as JDT, has become unmatched in Malaysia with a total of 31 trophies in 12 years. The club was initiated by the Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Idris, since 2012. He merged two mediocre clubs from Johor in the Malaysian football scene, namely Johor FA and Johor FC.

Since its presence in the Malaysian Super League in the 2013 season, the team nicknamed "Harimau Selatan" has won 11 Malaysian League titles, 10 Charity Cups, five Malaysian Cups, four Malaysian FA Cups, and one AFC Cup.

Specifically for the AFC Cup 2014, JDT became the only ASEAN team that could become champions in the official Asian competition now known as the AFC Champions League.

Arriving in Johor Bahru, Johor State, Malaysia, the atmosphere of JDT is very palpable. Outside the club's facilities, JDT has an official store named "JDT Direct" in one of the largest shopping centers in Johor Bahru, namely Toppen Shopping Center.

In JDT Direct, three team jerseys for the 2025-2026 season are displayed. Their home jersey is dark blue and red, the away kit is red, and the third or alternative jersey is turquoise.

JDT is the only team in ASEAN supported by American sports apparel brand Nike, which has been given three versions of the jersey.

The three versions of the jersey have been provided by Nike to JDT since the 2024-2025 season. Only major and successful teams are given three jerseys by Nike, including Barcelona, Chelsea, and Inter Milan.

JDT has been unmatched in Malaysia with a total of 31 trophies in 12 years. The club was initiated by Prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Idris since 2012.

In Asia, this special policy is granted to the giants of the J-League, Urawa Red Diamonds, and the defending champions of the Saudi Arabian League, Al-Ittihad.

JDT Direct is never short of visitors. Aqil (27), a storekeeper at JDT Direct, mentioned that at the beginning of each season, many JDT supporters come to look for new jerseys. Not only from Johor, but several visitors from Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have been served by Aqil to purchase jerseys of the Southern Tigers squad.

"The number of orders is quite large. We also serve purchases via online applications. Jersey stock is still safe, but we are currently running out of nameset stock for a number of players, such as Arif Aiman," said Aqil when met last Wednesday (20/8/2025).

The price for a JDT jersey is 299 Malaysian ringgit (approximately Rp 1.15 million). To add a name set, supporters must pay an additional 65 ringgit (Rp 251,000).

In addition to shopping centers, JDT Direct is also available at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium complex, which is the home ground of JDT. The availability of merchandise in both stores tends to be similar, including jerseys, t-shirts, scarves, balls, sunglasses, and hats.

However, JDT Direct at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium feels more like JDT due to the LED lights in the room, which predominantly feature a combination of blue and red. The size of the store is also larger.

This is evident, among other things, in the availability of four fitting rooms and a dedicated booth for name set installation. Meanwhile, at Toppen Shopping Center, there's only one fitting room, and the name set installation service is located at the same counter as the cashier. JDT's in-stadium store concept is unrivaled only by Bali United in Indonesia.

Sultan Ibrahim Stadium deserves to be called the best football stadium in Southeast Asia at present. The football arena has a moderate capacity of around 40,000 spectators.

Since its opening in February 2020, the stadium has boasted state-of-the-art facilities. All stands are single-seat.

The tribune and the field are only separated by a glass barrier that does not obstruct the supporters' view of the match. There is no running track on the side of the field, allowing for very close observation of the players' movements.

The technical area for the two competing teams is integrated with the stands, resulting in no spare benches displayed on the side of the field. Only two long chairs are available on the side of the field in front of the home and away teams' substitute benches. These chairs are designated for the coach and assistant coach to observe the performance of their players.

Two giant digital screens are installed behind each goal. The lights inside and outside the stadium can present a "dance" of lasers that delights the eyes at night.

In addition, the acoustic facilities within the stadium are also very good. This condition allows the sound of match announcements and the roar of supporters to be heard comfortably without causing noise.

Inside the stadium, there are several franchise restaurants available, such as KFC, Starbucks, Zus Coffee, IKEA Cafe, Bingxue, Woodfire Burger, and Inside Scoop, which can be options for supporters to fill their stomachs before and after the match or during halftime.

Not to be missed, Sultan Ibrahim Stadium also features a Blue Lounge for VIP guests during matches. Additionally, there is a space for the JDT supporters' office, known as "Markaz." Not only serving as a gathering place, Markaz is also utilized by supporters to sell their merchandise.

Not only on match days, the club's restaurant and souvenir shop facilities remain open every day. In fact, JDT also offers stadium tours on Fridays to Sundays outside of match days.

It is not surprising that Sultan Ibrahim Stadium is the only sports venue to receive a "platinum" rating in the tourism quality standards from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture of Malaysia in 2025.

In addition to the commercial area, the headquarters of JDT is also located in the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium area. The team's office building is separate from the stadium building. Interestingly, the club's headquarters, which is in the shape of a cube and appears very iconic, stands apart from the grandeur of the stadium.

"The area around this stadium used to be forest. Since the stadium was built, it's become bustling. There are lots of housing complexes and shops, and there's even traffic jams when there's a match," said Tan Eng, a ride-hailing driver originally from Johor.

Touring the iconic locations of JDT, from JDT Direct at Toppen, Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, to the JDT training center, feels like a journey around the city of Johor Bahru. Among these three locations, only the team's training center is situated in the city center, also known as the Bandaraya Johor Bahru area.

The training center is located in Taman Merdeka Johor Bahru, famous for its iconic Big Clock building. This area is comparable to the squares in Indonesian cities. Adjacent to Taman Merdeka, there is a site enclosed by a dark blue fence.

The fence displays the logos of brands that sponsor Harimau Selatan. Behind the fence is a massive white dome structure featuring a giant JDT logo that showcases a tiger and the large inscription "Johor Darul Ta’zim."

Inside the dome, there are two state-of-the-art football fields for the main team's indoor training. The JDT players, who are mostly from Europe and South America, need not fear the heat as the training facility is equipped with air conditioning. Additionally, the venue also features a fitness center for the players.

In addition to the indoor field, the complex is also equipped with two outdoor fields featuring the best grass. These fields are generally used for training by the JDT academy team.

The training center for the team is located approximately 16 kilometers to the west of Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. Meanwhile, the distance from the training center to the club's commercial center in Toppen is about 14 kilometers to the northeast.

JDT has proven that a football club nurtured with a progressive vision and substantial financial support is not only capable of achieving success on the field but can also become a new icon for the country. It seems that Malaysia has established a sports tourism identity through JDT.

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