The mystery of the missing Burnley Cup continues as the Museums Department has confirmed it does not have the trophy.
And, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) is still clueless about its whereabouts.
Following a query by Twentytwo13, the department’s collection management division director Nor Hanisah Ahmad said only the HMS Malaya Cup is in the department’s possession.
“Based on our records, FAM gifted the HMS Malaya Cup to the Museums Department on Feb 19, 1968,” Nor Hanisah said.
The HMS Malaya Cup was donated by the British in 1912. The HMS Malaya trophy was retired and replaced with a new trophy – the Malaysia Cup – in 1967.
FAM has not been able to trace the Burnley Cup with some insiders suggesting the trophy could be with the Museums Department.
Twentytwo13 first wrote about the missing Burnley Cup on March 19.
The Burnley Cup, an Under-19 tournament, was introduced after former Malaya coach Choo Seng Quee returned from a six-month coaching course in England.
During his stint there, he was attached to Burnley and Sheffield. He had apparently returned to Malaya with two trophies courtesy of the English clubs.
However, no one seems to remember the Sheffield Cup ever being held.
The Burnley Cup was held six times between 1962 and 1972.
According to data collected by senior journalist Devinder Singh, Terengganu and Penang were joint winners in the final edition in 1972 after a 2-2 draw in the final at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.
Many Malaysian legends such as Datuk Mokhtar Dahari and Datuk Dell Akhbar Khan played in the tournament which was later changed to Razak Cup and is today known as President’s Cup.
Sadly, there is no official information about the Burnley Cup trophy or the tournament.
Dell Akhbar, who served as FAM general secretary from 2000 to 2005, was also clueless about the Burnley Cup.
Datuk George Joseph had refereed Burnley Cup matches in the 60s but he could not remember what the trophy looks like.
