The Thai newspaper Siam Sport wrote: "To elevate Southeast Asian football, FIFA will organize a tournament for teams in the region, modeled after the Arab Cup."
"FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed that the tournament aims to develop football among the 11 ASEAN member countries, which are run by FIFA," Thailand's leading sports daily added.
The Vietnamese national team is preparing to compete in another tournament organized by FIFA in Southeast Asia (Photo: Nam Anh).
Siam Sport quoted the head of the World Football Federation (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, as saying: “The FIFA ASEAN Cup will certainly be a great success, promoting football in Southeast Asian countries and supporting the development of their football.”
"Furthermore, this tournament provides an opportunity for top Southeast Asian players to join their national teams in a competition organized by FIFA," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
In addition, Siam Sport published an important piece of information that is of interest to many Southeast Asian football fans: "The FIFA ASEAN Cup will be a different event compared to the AFF Cup."
FIFA will hold further discussions with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) to discuss the timing and format of the FIFA ASEAN Cup in the near future.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's New Straits Times stated: "The Southeast Asian Football Championship, under the new FIFA format, will be the starting point for the resurgence of regional football."
"The acting chairman of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Datuk Yusoff Mahadi, said that the announcement of this tournament is of immense importance, especially for Malaysian football."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (left) proposes a new tournament in Southeast Asia: the FIFA ASEAN Cup (Photo: NST).
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the tournament aims to revitalize Southeast Asian football. He also revealed that the tournament will feature all 11 ASEAN member countries.
Currently, 11 teams have been confirmed to participate in the first FIFA ASEAN Cup, including Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei, and Timor Leste.
However, it remains unclear whether the Australian national team will participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup. The Football Association of Australia is a member of the AFF, but they have not participated in previous AFF Cup tournaments because the AFF Cup takes place outside of FIFA's calendar, making it difficult for the Australian team to assemble a squad.
Furthermore, many years ago, the Australian team's skill level was far superior to that of the teams in Southeast Asia.
However, things have changed now. Indonesia, after using a squad of naturalized players of Dutch origin, has significantly narrowed the professional gap with the Australian team. Other Southeast Asian football nations, if they are not afraid to face an Indonesian team with many naturalized players, will probably not be afraid to face Australia either.
If the FIFA ASEAN Cup were run by FIFA and followed a FIFA-set schedule, Australia would have an advantage in assembling their squad for the tournament, so playing against Southeast Asian teams would likely no longer be an issue. This is also something that fans in the region are interested in.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-binh-luan-ve-giai-dau-fifa-asean-cup-20251028150148509.htm
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