Johor Darul Ta’zim set new world unbeaten benchmark after Kuching victory

Johor Darul Ta’zim FC have established a new world record for consecutive league matches without defeat after beating Kuching 3-0 on Friday.

The Malaysian side’s victory took their unbeaten run to 109 league games, one more than the previous record held by ASEC Mimosas. The Ivorian club’s mark of 108 matches had stood for 32 years.

Johor Darul Ta’zim’s run began in 2021 and has now given the club the longest unbeaten sequence recorded in league football, according to the figures cited in the original record.

ASEC Mimosas set their benchmark during an extraordinary period between 1989 and 1994. Across almost five years, the club from Cote d’Ivoire went through 108 league fixtures without losing.

That achievement remained unmatched for more than three decades, but JDT have now moved beyond it with their latest win.

The Malaysian club’s record is the latest illustration of its dominance at home. Johor Darul Ta’zim have won the last 12 consecutive editions of the Malaysian Super League, completing a period of sustained success that has left them well clear of their domestic rivals.

Their strength is supported by considerable financial and structural resources. The club is closely associated with Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the crown prince and regent of the state of Johor, where the team is based.

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has played a major role in Johor Darul Ta’zim’s transformation into one of the leading forces in South-East Asian football. That backing has helped the club assemble a squad with resources and quality well beyond those available to much of the competition in Malaysia.

Africa also has an indirect connection to the new record-holder. Johor Darul Ta’zim’s squad has included Equatorial Guinea international Carlos Akapo since this year.

Akapo, who has won 47 caps, plays at right-back and is one of the senior figures in the Nzalang Nacional squad. He serves as vice-captain behind Emilio Nsue, the experienced forward and long-standing leader of Equatorial Guinea.

For ASEC Mimosas, the loss of the record does not diminish the significance of what the club achieved at the turn of the 1990s. Going unbeaten for 108 league matches in a different era, over a period approaching five years, remains one of the most remarkable accomplishments in Ivorian football history.

Johor Darul Ta’zim have now gone beyond that total. It took more than three decades for another club to do so.