Malaysia has never played in a World Cup — But we’ve been there

Malaysia has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup. Not once, not in 1982, not in 2026. Yet on Saturday, something quietly historic happened in Vancouver — and it had a Malaysian fingerprint on it.

Nishan Velupillay, a 25-year-old winger for Australia, became the first player of Malaysian descent to feature in a FIFA World Cup. His father, Sasinath Velupillay, is Malaysian with Sri Lankan Tamil heritage. His mother, Gillian, is Anglo-Indian. Velupillay was born in Melbourne, plays for Melbourne Victory, and came off the bench for the Socceroos against Türkiye in their Group D opener.

“I hope to repay them, that is the dream. I want to compete well in the game,” Nishan said of his parents, whose sacrifices shaped his journey from a young age.

It is a small but genuine moment of pride. However, it is also far from the only thread connecting Malaysia to football’s biggest stage. Over five decades, Malaysians have brushed against the World Cup in ways most fans have completely forgotten.

2026 — The first player of Malaysian descent

Nishan’s journey to Vancouver began with a debut goal against China during World Cup qualifying in October 2024. He scored again in March 2026, in back-to-back qualifiers against Indonesia and China, finishing qualification with three goals in seven appearances for Australia.

Furthermore, his selection carries weight beyond football.

Representation from South Asian backgrounds has remained limited in Australian football despite the community’s growing presence in the country.

For young Australians of Sri Lankan, Indian, and Malaysian heritage, Velupillay’s place in the squad offers a visible example of what is possible — and gives Malaysia, for the first time, a genuine personal stake in a men’s World Cup squad.

2015 — Two Malaysian women officiated at a World Cup

Sixteen years before Velupillay’s moment, two Malaysian women made history of their own — on the pitch, with the whistle.

Cpl Rita Ghani, from Sabah and voted Best Women’s Referee in Asia in 2014, was selected as a match official for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Alongside her, Sgt Widiya Shamsuri from Seremban was selected as one of only eight assistant referees chosen from Asia.

“I am proud and happy to represent Malaysia in the World Cup, after having gone through a very tough selection process,” Widiya said at the time.

She described the fitness test in Zurich as her toughest hurdle — training in cold weather she had never experienced.

Both Rita and Widiya were serving police officers. Their selection remains one of Malaysia’s proudest, and most overlooked, World Cup connections.

2010 — Malaysia’s first (and Only) Men’s World Cup official

Five years earlier, a teacher from Parit Buntar, Perak, became the first Malaysian referee ever selected for a men’s FIFA World Cup.

Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh served as fourth official at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, officiating across seven group stage matches — including Brazil vs Ivory Coast and Brazil vs North Korea at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

He was one of only four referees appointed from the entire Asian confederation that year.

Subkhiddin never took charge of a match himself. Nevertheless, his selection remains a landmark — to date, no other Malaysian referee has been selected for a men’s World Cup since.

2002 — When the World Champions came to Malaysia

Eight years earlier, Malaysia hosted a team that would go on to win the World Cup that same year.

On 25 May 2002, Brazil played a friendly against Malaysia, winning 4-0. Just weeks later, that same Brazilian squad — featuring Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho — lifted the World Cup trophy in Japan.

Consequently, Malaysian fans who attended that match watched, without quite realising it, a preview of the eventual world champions.

Malaysia may never have walked out at a World Cup as a competing nation. But across five decades, Malaysians and Malaysian connections have appeared on football’s grandest stage in ways both significant and quietly remarkable — as officials, as relatives, and even as opponents to a future legend on home soil.

As the 2026 World Cup continues, Velupillay’s story adds the latest chapter. Whether or not Malaysia ever qualifies outright, these threads are part of the country’s footballing story too — worth remembering, and worth telling.