Asean Club Championship postponed to next year

Mar 26, 2020 06:00 am

This year's inaugural Asean Club Championship (ACC), which features top sides from South-east Asia, has been rescheduled to 2021, following the coronavirus pandemic.

The competition, which features 12 domestic champions or Cup winners from Asean Football Federation (AFF) member associations, was slotted into 10 match days over five months, though no dates had been fixed.

However, in a bid to "protect the safety and health of our football family and communities", the AFF has moved the tournament, along with four other events, the regional body said in a statement last night.

The Republic would be represented in the ACC by Tampines Rovers, who finished last year's Singapore Premier League (SPL) as the top local team (second overall). They also won the Singapore Cup.

When contacted, Tampines coach Gavin Lee said: "The health of everyone involved with the club and the game is of priority right now.The game can come later and we will worry about it once it's time for football again."

The SPL has also been suspended, in the light of the coronavirus situation. The other postponed AFF events are the Women's Championship and age-group championships for the Under-18 Women, U-16 Boys and U-19 Boys. They will take place later this year.