DATUK WIRA SOH CHIN AUN

National Footballer with the Most International Caps, Olympian

Soh Chin Ann is a retired Malaysian footballer who was born on 28 July 1950. He played as a defender and was nicknamed Tauke or Towkay by his fans and teammates, which means Boss in English. He is recognised by RSSSF (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation) and IFFHS(International Federation of Football History and Statistics) as the player with the most international caps in the history of men's football, having played 219 times for his country. He also held the record for the most appearances in FIFA official matches with 195 caps, until he was surpassed by Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait in 2022.

Soh Chin Aun was a Malaysian footballer who represented his country in two Olympic Games and one Asian Cup. He made his international debut at 19 in the 1969 King's Cup and was the youngest player in the 1971 Olympic qualifier in Seoul. He played in all three matches of the 1972 Munich Olympics, where Malaysia faced West Germany, Morocco and the United States. He also captained the team that qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but Malaysia withdrew from the tournament due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

For his achievements, he received the Ahli Mangku Negara award from the king of Malaysia. He also led Malaysia to a memorable 1–1 draw with South Korea in the 1980 Asian Cup, where he was selected as one of the best players of the tournament by the AFC, becoming the first Southeast Asian to earn this honour.