Johor Darul Ta’zim, the Malaysian Super League club owned by the country’s royal family, are on the brink of breaking the world record for the longest unbeaten run in league football. Their opening match of the new season, against Kuching on Friday, will decide whether they surpass the 108-game streak set by Ivorian side Asec Mimosas 32 years ago, a run JDT began in April 2021 under a project driven by former Watford manager Xisco Muñoz. The story highlights an unlikely rise to prominence for a club few outside Southeast Asia would have heard of, built through sustained investment rather than a single transformative season.

Xisco, who left Watford in 2021 after leading them to the Premier League, took charge of JDT last summer and says the pressure of maintaining the unbeaten record is intense despite the club’s resources. JDT, based near Singapore and backed by Crown Prince Tunku Ismail since 2013, have modelled themselves on European football, employing Liverpool great Luis García as chief executive and former Valencia academy director Javier Ribera, with facilities Xisco compares to Premier League standards. He credits the achievement to 13 years of sustained work rather than short-term spending, calling the feat highly unusual in football.