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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) stipulates that players cannot be quarantined for more than four days when they visit a country for a match, but in Vietnam the requirement is 14 days. Saigon had expressed a desire to play host, but that honors falls on Singaporean club Lion City Sailors, who have met all the AFC’s requirements. Besides Saigon and Lion City Sailors, Group H also consists of Malaysian club Kedah and a qualifier. The games will be played from June 22 to 28. This is Saigon’s maiden appearance in the event -- they qualified by finishing third in the V. League last year -- but, with weaker opponents in the group, are expected to sail through to the next round. The host of group G, in which Hanoi FC take on Indonesia’s Bali United, Cambodia's Boeung Ket and the play-off winner, has yet to be decided. This is Hanoi’s fifth appearance in the AFC Cup. They finished second in the V. League and won the National Cup last year. Vietnam’s representative in the … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s quarantine requirements prevent Saigon FC from hosting AFC Cup

The team have been drawn in Group H alongside Lion City Sailors FC of Singapore, Kedah Darul Aman FC of Malaysia, and the winners of an upcoming play-off match. In addition to hosting games in Group H, Singapore will also host fixtures in Group I, with matches featuring Geylang International FC of Singapore, Terengganu FC of Malaysia, and Kaya–Iloilo of the Philippines. Elsewhere in the tournament, Hanoi FC are due to play in Group G, although a host country for this group has yet to be identified. In choosing a host for games in the group stage, the AFC expect that the host country only enforces a four-day isolation period for arrivals. This therefore ruled out Vietnam as a potential host for games due to the country implementing a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the AFC Cup group stage will see each group played on a single round-robin basis at centralised venues, as opposed to games being played across … [Read more...] about Saigon FC to play group stage of 2021 AFC Cup in Singapore

The side from the capital have been drawn in the same group alongside Bali United FC of Indonesia, Boeung Ket FC of Cambodia, and the winner of play-off match one. Elsewhere in the competition local club Saigon FC are in Group H alongside Lion City FC of Singapore, Kedah FC of Malaysia, and the winner of play-off match two. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the tournament’s group stage will be held between June 22 and June 28, with all group stage matches set to be played at a concentrated place. Therefore, in order to reach the final round participating clubs must play in nine matches as opposed to 14 matches in previous versions of the tournament. This comes after the AFC Cup 2020 was cancelled due to ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 version of the tournament will see the participation of 39 teams from five zones, including West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and ASEAN. Vietnam’s two representatives in the … [Read more...] about Hanoi FC face easy fixtures in draw for group stage of AFC Cup 2021

Viettel FC have been selected in the third seed group in East Asia, alongside United City of the Philippines, Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia, Tampines Rovers of Singapore, and Kitchee of Hong Kong (China). Elsewhere, BG Pathum United FC of Thailand are in the first seed group, whilst the other Thai club in the competition Port are in the second seed group. This means Viettel FC are likely to play one of the Thai clubs in order to cruise into the next round. The 40th iteration of the tournament features the participation of 40 teams from both East Asia and West Asia. In total 20 teams from East Asia have been divided into five groups, with the five group winners and three second-placed teams set to progress through to the knock-out stage. The draw for the AFC Champions League’s group matches is scheduled to be held on January 27 at the AFC’s headquarters in Malaysia. Group matches will then be held from April 21 to May 7 with home and away games to take place in a specific … [Read more...] about Viettel FC to face Thai rivals in 2021 AFC Champions League

SINGAPORE: FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have agreed to postpone the upcoming Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, it was announced on Monday (Mar 9), with Singapore among the teams affected. This applies to matches originally scheduled to take place during the international windows of Mar 23 to Mar 31 and Jun 1 to Jun 9. This move follows consultation with Asia's member associations, said FIFA in a media release. FIFA and the AFC will discuss further details of the postponed matches, it said. "However, in order to support the member associations concerned, and provided that the safety of all individuals involved meets the required standards and that the member associations due to play each other mutually agree, the match(es) may still be played during the international windows of March or June 2020, but always subject to prior approval from both FIFA and the AFC," added football's governing body. READ: Singapore reports 10 new COVID-19 cases; 6 linked … [Read more...] about FIFA, AFC agree to postpone upcoming World Cup Asian qualifiers amid COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore affected