AFF Suzuki Cup moved to 2021 due to pandemic

The Philippines' hopes of raising the AFF Championship will have to wait for longer after the premier competition in Southeast Asia will be moved to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With most of Southeast Asian sporting scene still shut down for the past four months, it left the subcontinental association no choice to postpone the biennial meet that is supposed to be played on December, citing concerns with the regions situation in containing the virus.

“The AFF has been closely monitoring guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Ministries, government agencies, FIFA and AFC,” said AFF president Khiev Sameth of Cambodia in their statement. 

Almost all of league play across the ASEAN region have been halted since March, with Vietnam had to pause their season anew after there were two new cases were detected in the country, three months after containing the first wave that led to their resumption of competitions that drew packed crowds in the stadium.

Meanwhile, the Philippines Football League have been aiming to kick off in September in Carmona, after seeing their season start with new partner Qatar Airways moved twice owing to the government-ordered lockdowns.

As such, the AFF deemed risky to proceed as scheduled owing to the global health crisis.

"AFF’s top priority continues to be the health and safety of our football family and mitigating the impact of this pandemic."

SPORTFIVE global sales and Asia-Pacific head Adam Staiti echoed the AFF's thoughts as they keep a close eye on it as they reshuffled their plans for next year.

"While we are disappointed that we are unable to hold the tournament this year, we will work closely with the AFF to monitor the situation and look forward to working with our partners to deliver a great tournament for the fans of ASEAN next year," said Staiti, whose firm is the exclusive commercial partner of the tournament

It was in this tournament that revived football in the country, with the Azkals first rose to prominence in their 2010 shocker of then-defending champions Vietnam that led them to their first of their four semifinal appearances in the past decade.

"The AFF Suzuki Cup will always be the tournament that re-ignited Philippine football in the national consciousness," said PFF President Mariano Araneta in a statement, in which his term began three days before the country's 1-1 draw with Singapore that preceded the biggest shock in the history of the ASEAN Championship.

"The Miracle of Hanoi 10 years ago allowed the country to scale even greater heights in recent years."

Photos: AFF Suzuki Cup (File)