Friday, June 21, 2024
Are Fans Ready To Embrace The ASEAN Club Competition?
Well, it looks like 2024 is gonna be the year when the much talked about ASEAN Club competition actually gets off the ground. Rather like the Bangkok metro, talking about an intra regional competition was great for column inches but surely it would never get off the ground?
The Asian football nerd in me was at once drawn to the idea while thinking the logistics would prove to be an obstacle to getting it started. I love the idea of a Laotian club side rubbing tusks with a Singaporean side but among the wider football public, is there really any interest?
People are quite happy to stay up until stupid o'clock to watch the UEFA Champions League which benefits from wall to wall coverage and local media filled with generic agency produced columns but when it comes to the AFC equivalent there isn't that familiarity or name recognition to get the pulses racing.
When you add into the mix the short termism that too often surrounds club management who often struggle to get teams ready for the regular league games let alone the burden of further games, and travel, you can see the reasons for my cynicism.
But, fair play, a draw has been made, a sponsor signed up and next month sees the competition kick off with a couple of qualifying ties
17/07/24 Young Elephants v Svay Rieng; Kasuka v Shan United
24/07/24 Svay Rieng v Young Elephants; Shan United v Kasuka
The respective winners of those ties will go into the group stage which commences in August and will go on to February 2025
Group A - PSM Makassar, BG Pathum United, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Terengganu + 2
Group B - Cong An Ha Noi, Buriram United, Borneo Samarinda, Lion City Sailors, Kuala Lumpur City, Kaya Iloilo
You'd imagine the likes of Buriram United and Lion City Sailors won't be rattling buckets at their home games. Both clubs have deep pockets and both clubs seem to have no problem entering both the ASEAN Club Championship and the AFC Champions League!
With the new tournament due to start in just a few weeks a quick glance at the websites of some of the competing clubs shows no mention of their early games on their websites though mention was made on social media.
Competitions, especially new ones, need hype and for the ACC to become a regular feature on the football calendar you would hope the clubs involved will do their bit to generate interest
