Sarawak FA

Early years

Early incarnations of the team really existed after the creation of the Crown Colony of Sarawak. Although there were football activities which existed in present-day Malaysian region of Sarawak before the World War I, most of the activities focused on local football league or cup competitions created by Europeans, mostly British, who settled in Sarawak at the time.

After the formation Malaysia in 1963, the team simply became known as the Sarawak State Football Team because it is a team funded by the Malaysian state government of Sarawak to compete and represent the state of Sarawak in the Malaysian football system. It was one of the 14 Malaysian state football teams that existed in the Malaysian football system before 2021. All the 14 Malaysian state teams operated just like the Sarawak State Football Team before 2021, in which they are not professional clubs but rather teams representing the Malaysian states or a Malaysian state football associations, funded by their respective state governments to compete in Malaysian football competitions. Outsiders who are not familiar with the Malaysian football system before 2020 would come to recognise these teams as state FA teams, hence Sarawak State Football Team was also known as Sarawak FA.

Despite already joining mainstream Malaysian football since the formation of the country in 1963, Sarawak State Football Team only competed in Malaysia national football tournaments for the first time in 1979. This was only after an individual known as Taha Ariffin made reforms to the association that governs football in Sarawak by creating the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) in 1974.

Early years in the Malaysian Professional Football era

Under the management of Vest during the early years of the professional era of Malaysian football, the team went on win more trophies. This was also thanks to the huge investment made by FAS who assembled the squad. FAS' investment paid off during the early years as Sarawak were the most consistent side in Malaysia. Sarawak went on to win the Malaysian top division league title in 1997, known as the Malaysia Premier League. It was the greatest achievement by the Sarawak State Football Team to date.

Jalil would leave in 2003 and Sarawak State Football Team would begin its "era of uncertainty". Although the Sarawak State Football Team became one of the eight teams who formed the inaugural Malaysia Super League in 2004, it was relegated and thus played in the Malaysian second division in 2005.

Robert Alberts era second division "Invincibles"

Although Alberts' first stint was a less-than-memorable one due to the fact that the team had just been relegated, he was appointed midway through the 2011 season to replace Zaki Sheikh. Alberts did well to get the team promoted, but Sarawak relegated again at the end of the 2012 Super League season.

Despite playing in the second division in 2013, it did not deter the spirit of the team and Alberts stayed, being crowned second division champions in the same year. What made the success even sweeter was that the team completed the season campaign unbeaten, with the record of 18 wins and 4 draws in 22 games. For the feat, that season in the Malaysian football league would come to be known as the "Era of the Invincibles" for the Sarawak State Football Team. Fans would also praise Alberts for getting the locals to successfully team up with foreign import players such as Bosnian striker Muamer Salibašić and Cameroonian centre-back Guy Bwele. The very same team team also competed in the Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysia Cup, but was unable to win.

Life in the Malaysia Super League (2014–2017)

Owing to poor performances of the Sarawak State Football Team in 2015 Malaysia Super League, Alberts' contract was mutually terminated and was replaced by Fuad Grbešić. He acted as the team's interim coach until the end of the 2015 Super League season. Sarawak State Football Team narrowly escaped relegation. FAS felt that changes had to be made to keep the team in the Super League by appointing former Malaysia national team coach K. Rajagopal at the end of 2015. Rajagopal's stint at Sarawak did not last long either, as his contract was terminated on 7 May 2016 after the poor performances.

Decline

After playing in the Malaysian Super League from 2014, the team was relegated at the end of the 2017 season. Things got worse as they were again relegated, to the Malaysia M3 League, at the end of the 2019 season. What made the relegation a bitter pill to swallow was that the team was relegated after playing a play-off match and losing 1–3 against their crosstown rivals Kuching City FC.

Dissolution in 2021

After being relegated to the Malaysian third division, FAS had tried to rebrand the Sarawak State Football Team as a feeder team to Sarawak United in 2020. Should the Sarawak State Football Team be rebranded as a feeder team, it would also be renamed Sarawak United II for the purpose of competing the in 2020 Malaysia M3 League season, but the name change was not approved by the Amateur Football League. The team hence went on to use the Sarawak FA name when they competed in 2020. In early 2021, FAS made the announcement that they will not register the Sarawak FA team to compete in the upcoming season, citing financial constraints. Many football fans in Malaysia saw this as the end to a once legendary team.