ASEAN Super League
The ASEAN Super League is a proposed international association football competition between domestic clubs sides run by the ASEAN Football Federation. It is scheduled to commence in 2017.[1]
Proposed participating national football associations
Eight countries will take part in the competition. There will be no promotion nor relegation, and a play-off system determines the winner. 16 teams are expected to eventually compete in the league. Competition will be held on a club basis with each team allowed to register two players from an Asean country and six players from non Asean countries.
Australia (2 clubs)
Thailand (2 clubs)
Malaysia (2 clubs)
Vietnam (2 clubs)
Indonesia (2 clubs)
Singapore (2 clubs)
Myanmar (2 clubs)
Philippines (2 clubs)
Note - If Australia refuse to compete (as they have a significantly higher ranking in FIFA), then Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor-Leste will be considered to compete based on their last ranking in FIFA before the tournament kicks-off. However, only two teams will be selected with only one club slot for each team.
Laos (1 club)
Cambodia (1 club)
Brunei (1 club)
Timor-Leste (1 club)
Competition format
The format of the ASEAN Super League is the same as the format for the domestic league. Each football association in Southeast Asia will send two clubs. The participating teams will be playing in a round-robin format.
Championship
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|
Controversy
Tampines Rovers' 2016 signing Jermaine Pennant said, "I don't think it's going to be beneficial at all for Singapore football if the best players and the best teams are shipped off to a different league, I don't think the fans will appreciate it." His sentiments are shared by team-mate Afiq Yunos. [2]
Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor and chairman of Malaysian Super League club Johor Darul Takzim, said: "I don't agree with the ASL. I think we're (South-east Asian football) still young and we (should) focus on how it is done in Europe. For now, the Asian Champions League is the highest target. The ASL is not really my cup of tea."[3]
In April 2016, Buriram United's boss Newin Chidchob also said, "Quite simply, I don’t support the idea of an ASEAN Super League and I don’t think it works from either a competitive or organisational perspective. The business terms and the return on the investment are not good enough, I mean, they’re asking small clubs to pay US$5 million (S$6.7m), but how much can those clubs win in this proposed league?”[4]
References
- ↑ Justin Ong (29 December 2015). "Singapore football chief says ASEAN Super League 'stepping stone' for local stars to level up". Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ↑ Chua Siang Yee (20 January 2016). "Pennant: Sending best players to Asean Super League won't benefit local football". The Straits Times.
- ↑ "Johor Crown Prince cool to idea of Asean Super League". "Asia One". 10 April 2016.
- ↑ Scott McIntyre (13 April 2016). "Buriram boss pours cold water on ASL concept". FourFourTwo.com.