National Coach Radojko Avramovic has called up his final 22 ahead of the ASEAN Football Championship, also known as the Suzuki Cup. The coach made his decision after a final warmup game against Laos last night which the Lions won 4-0.
Singapore lost 1-2 to North Korea in their opening Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Cup match.
Singapore has been drawn in Group B alongside Myanmar, defending champions and co-hosts, Vietnam and the qualifying round’s runner-up for December’s AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. Group A will feature the other co-hosts Indonesia as well as Malaysia, Thailand and the qualifying round winner.
So basketball fans across ASEAN will get a league of their own when the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) tips off in October 2009. If you're a football fan and you're wondering why there isn't an equivalent football league in ASEAN, you ask the right question.
In its 14-year history, the S.League has struggled to establish an emotional connection with Singaporeans. While there are sponsors willing to come on board, the league needs a regional expansion plan for it to take off and come out from under the shadow of the English Premier League.
The ASEAN Football Championship (AFF Suzuki Cup) is a tournament best played on a home-and-away format over the course of a few months because to cram seven games (and only for the eventual finalists) in the space of three weeks just says to sponsor Suzuki, "Thanks for your money but we can only give you three weeks of returns in the media."
If you have been confused about what the Suzuki Cup was all about, don't worry, it's not your fault. After all, the event has had two previous names.
Apart from Thailand, who went down 2-3 to Vietnam in front of 40,000 fans at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, American sportswear giant Nike was also a loser on the pitch last night.