Jakarta Casual

Singapore also went down that route a while back when they switched from SLeague to the Singapore Premier League. Why? Of course it's a premier league, it's the only one! It's not as if it's the apex division in a thriving football pyramid.

Then we have Malaysia and as ever, when they start to think at Wisma FAM it really fries my brain. At least the Super League, the Malaysia Cup and the FA Cup have remained unchanged but further down the pyramid, and they do have a pyramid there, things get messy.

What in the name of all that is suci is the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League? Who the hell came up with that nonsense for a second-tier competition? Get relegated and you're in the Malaysia A2 Amateur League!!!

Then there is the MFL Cup which, despite the name, is a cup for reserve teams.

Mind you, I gave up expecting logic in Malaysian football years ago when they had teams built from a reality TV show, a road and a provincial water authority!

Moving on...I guess the AFC had seen what UEFA had done and decided they wanted to do something similar. but different. 

There was nothing wrong with the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and the AFC Challenge Cup. Except UEFA ditched their third cup so the AFC did the same.

But UEFA brought back a third competition so the AFC brought theirs back. and UEFA called theirs a league so AFC copied that as well.

But, fair play to the AFC. Rather than solely copy other people's daft ideas they decided to introduce a few of their own. The AFC Champions League has become the AFC Champions League Elite. The AFC Cup has been rebranded the AFC Champions League 2. And of course the AFC Challenge League.

How many extra fans will go to a game just because the name has been changed to highlight its secondary role in the ecosystem? I'm guessing none.

These daft name changes are borne of nothing other than non-football people overthinking problems that never existed in the first place and, just like the evolution of tactics on the field, do nothing but over complicate what is still, at its heart, a beautiful and simple game

# posted by Me @ 4:03 PM