Southeast Asia has its first football tournament officially recognized by FIFA.

Memorandum of Understanding on new phase of cooperation between FIFA and ASEAN. (Photo: FIFA)

The MoU was signed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn, witnessed by ASEAN Chair, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim.

This is the second five-year cooperation period between FIFA and ASEAN, following the positive results of the first agreement signed in 2019, which has implemented many practical initiatives such as the “Football for Schools” program, health awareness campaigns, and sports education and development seminars in Southeast Asia.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, FIFA President Gianni Infantino affirmed: “The new agreement between FIFA and ASEAN will continue to make a difference, using football as a means to inspire, bring confidence and joy to millions of children and young people in the region. This partnership contributes to promoting social progress and spreading healthy lifestyles through football.”

According to the content of the Memorandum of Understanding, FIFA and ASEAN will focus on coordinating in five key areas: Promoting integrity in sports; utilizing sports for socio -economic development; ensuring football development on and off the field; promoting inclusion and equality; and supporting climate change adaptation.

Notably, right after the signing ceremony, FIFA officially announced the launch of the FIFA ASEAN Cup - a new playground for national teams of FIFA member federations in the Southeast Asian region, built on a similar model to the FIFA Arab Cup.

The tournament will bring together 11 members of ASEAN, including Timor Leste, which recently became an official member of the bloc.

President Gianni Infantino emphasized: “The organization of the FIFA ASEAN Cup is a highlight in the regional competition schedule, opening up opportunities for the best players in Southeast Asia to shine on the international stage. The tournament not only raises the level of national football but also contributes to uniting countries and developing the sports movement across ASEAN.”

FIFA will work closely with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) and national federations in the region to unify the competition format, time of organization and operating mechanism of the tournament in the coming time.

It is not yet clear whether the new tournament will replace the ASEAN Cup (formerly Tiger Cup and then AFF Cup), which was established in 1996. Previously, the AFF Cup was held every two years and was considered the biggest tournament in the region, but it was not part of the official FIFA competition system, so clubs had the right to refuse to release players if the tournament did not coincide with FIFA Days.

But with the birth of the FIFA ASEAN Cup, Southeast Asian teams have the right to request clubs to allow their players to return to perform national service. This is expected to create a boost for the development of "lowland" football as more and more Southeast Asian players are playing for teams playing in professional leagues in Japan, Korea or Europe.

In recent ASEAN Cups, when the tournament was not officially recognized by FIFA, many Thai stars stayed at their clubs instead of returning to fight for the national team. FIFA's recognition of the ASEAN Cup will also help teams using many naturalized players such as Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines have the strongest squad when participating in the tournament./.

HUY AN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dong-nam-a-lan-dau-tien-co-giai-bong-da-duoc-fifa-chinh-thuc-cong-nhan-post918300.html