Pahang FA of Malaysia failed to obtain AFC club license and will withdraw from the 2018 AFC Cup. Their place will be taken by Kedah FA. https://www.nst.com.my/sports/football/2017/11/306865/tmj-slams-pahang-fa-turning-down-afc-cup-slot But the FA of Malaysia (FAM) president said Pahang's decision sends the 'wrong signals' to other Malaysian teams. "Do they really think they are helping the national team or do they have an agenda to bring down the president and new leadership of FAM? I am not mincing my words here," said Tunku Ismail at a press conference in Johor Bahru today. "How will our football develop when you do not join an international competition such as the AFC Cup? You are sending the wrong signals to the other teams, it is as if the AFC Cup is not important. "If the AFC Cup is not important, then just send (your) President's Cup squad. At least the players will learn from the experience and you still participate in the tournament. "We are (affiliated) under AFC and AFC is under FIFA so we have to work together, not try to bring each other down."
Oh, I got this mixed up. Kedah has failed to get their AFC licence, then Pahang declining to replace Kedah in the AFC Cup.
AFC Club Licence is a new requriement in AFC Cup since the 2018 edition. There may be more clubs failing to obtain the licence and cannot join this edition.
Great that FA guy said those things. Clubs should not be giving up so easy on international competitions. Are those licencing criteria same as in ACL? If so, Iraqi clubs won't be able to take part in the competition as like as Syrian.
I wonder if North Korean clubs will gain their licenses... apparently an accountant is needed to audit the club's accounts.
This image is found on Facebook, showing that "FLC Thang Hoa" is replacing the Vietnamese champions "Quang Nam" for the slot in ACL Playoff. If the club requirement of participation in AFC Cup is 100% same as ACL, it will mean two things: 1. Vietnamese cup winners (Either "Song Lam Nghe An" or "Binh Duong") will not join AFC Cup 2018, because technically the cup winner should be the 2nd ranked team in Asian club competitions. "FLC Thanh Hoa", the runners-up in the league, should be the 3rd ranked team. 2. "Quang Nam" will also not participate in AFC Cup. The remaining AFC Cup slot should be given to the 3rd (4th ranked Vietnamese club in Asian club competitions) in the league. (i.e. "Hanoi F.C.")
From the competition regulations on AFC official website, they are referring to the same club licensing criteria document. I saw from an unofficial tweet from August saying that all Iraqi clubs will be licensed. Therefore, based on the information known, we will see Iraqi clubs in ACL instead of AFC Cup in 2018, or we will not see any Iraqi clubs in ACL nor AFC Cup.
"Benfica de Macau" successfully obtain AFC Club Licence, from a Hong Kong local football news website. http://www.offside.hk/macau/benfica-de-macau-successfully-obtain-afc-club-license/ ---- The football federation of Tajikistan posted the information of AFC Cup 2018 Central Zone, including the teams in group stage, playoff and preliminary stage. АФК сегодня объявила механизм предварительных игр и раунда плей-офф Кубка АФК-2018 pic.twitter.com/DQrkma6DU6— Tajikistan Football (@fft_official) November 28, 2017
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/football/2017/12/309886/pahang-put-malaysian-footballs-future-risk Pahang put Malaysian football's future at risk The Malaysian Super League champions next year are guaranteed a berth in the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage but Pahang's decision not to play in the AFC Cup could have future ramifications. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary Datuk Windsor Paul John confirmed that Malaysia are guaranteed one slot in the Champions League group stage for both 2019 and 2020. But he warned that if Malaysia have only one representative in the 2018 AFC Cup, the country's club ranking could fall. "Malaysia have just moved past Hong Kong by a small margin to gain a berth in the Champions League group stage for 2019 and 2020," said Windsor today. "But to stay ahead in the rankings, Malaysian clubs need to be playing in AFC competitions. If you don't gain points, then your ranking will drop. "I fear that Malaysia may come to regret Pahang's decision not to play in the AFC Cup in the future. The ramifications could come in four years' time for a decision made today." Windsor explained that club performances accounted for 90 per cent of a country's club ranking with the remainder coming from the national team's Fifa ranking. The average of total points accrued over a four-year period is used to determine the number of places a country can have in the Champions League and AFC Cup. In AFC's latest club rankings, Malaysia only edged Hong Kong by a fine margin of 0.266 point to move up to 13th place with 29.300 points, largely as a result of Johor Darul Ta'zim’s performances over the last few years. "The reason Malaysia have done well is that JDT emerged AFC Cup champions in 2015 and kept Malaysia's flag flying," said Windsor. "But the points are calculated based on an average and if there is only one club competing in AFC competitions, you will lose out in the end." JDT's victorious 2015 campaign made up one-third of Malaysia's average club points. With Pahang's refusal to comply with the FA of Malaysia's directive to play in the AFC Cup, JDT would be Malaysia's sole representative in the second-tier competition if the club do not qualify for the Champions League group stage next month. Super League runners-up Pahang were invited to take Malaysia's second spot in the AFC Cup after FA Cup winners Kedah failed to obtain an AFC licence.
Sometimes I wonder how serious Malaysian football is. They often talk like they can win the world cup but when they are expected to play, they don't turn up. Well, if you don't play, then you won't lose.
Seems club licensing is not the only requirement... Not sure about the reason for Iraqi playing in AFC Cup.
Actually, that was an extremely smart move and will benefit Malaysia. If JDT make it to the ACL, it will be a bonus for Malaysia. If they don't, the points will be divided by 1 and based on historical results, JDT will perform better than Pahang, Kedah or Selangor and Malaysia will leave HK further behind, thus ensuring a direct ACL GS spot (most likely for JDT) for more than a couple of seasons.
What happens in Group A if Malkiya wins their ACL Qualifier? Will the group just have 3 teams then? Doesn't look like there is a alternate for Bahrain.
Bit late to the party, but I see that AFC are persisting with this terrible format again this year. To think that just over 12 months ago we were complaining about the East-West division up to the finals. Now it's even more segregated and does nothing for club development.
Play-off, 1st leg: Hilal Al Quds Club 0-1 Al Suwaiq http://www.the-afc.com/competitions...y-off-1st-leg-hilal-alquds-club-0-1-al-suwaiq Preliminary Stage 1st Leg: Results and Reports http://www.the-afc.com/competitions...saif-sporting-club-limited-0-1-tc-sports-club
FT Ceres Negros FC(Phl) 9-0 Boeung Ket(Cam) The margin of victory equalled the AFC Cup record, first registered by Uzbekistan's Nasaf Qarshi who beat India's Dempo in a group stage tie in 2011. http://www.the-afc.com/competitions...chday-one-group-f-ceres-negros-9-0-boeung-ket In the other Grp F match, Home United(Sin) defeated Shan United (Myanmar) 1-0. http://www.the-afc.com/competitions...chday-one-group-f-shan-united-0-1-home-united
Apparently Benfica de Macau will play its home matches at the Macau University of Science and Technology football field, instead of Macau Stadium, which is a strange choice. http://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-cup/fixtures/ How MUST stadium manages to fulfill AFC criteria is a strange one to me.
Dear Friends and Fans! The tickets for the Benfica Macau vs Hang Yuen FC @AFC Cup 2018 this Wednesday the 7th at the Macau Stadium will be available for collection at the venue before kick off. Please remember that being this an official AFC CUP match, entry will only be allowed to those carrying a ticket. Tickets are free! Make sure to collect yours! From Benfica de Macau facebook.
How hard is it to get from Hong Kong (downtown) to Macao? I know they are building a bridge, will people (tourists) be able to take a train in the future that goes straight from HK to Macao?
Almost everyone go from HK to Macau by hydrofoil. The pier is at Sheung Wan station but tickets are not cheap at about HK$180 one way. There is no train from HK to Macau and the new bridge will not have trains, only buses. Once the High Speed Rail opens, one can travel from Kowloon to Guangzhou South Station, from there one can take a CRH train to Zhuhai's Gongbei customs. But it is a long and winding journey.
https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/football-participation-afc-cup-unique-opportunity-benfica-macau.html FOOTBALL | PARTICIPATION IN AFC CUP A ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’ FOR BENFICA MACAU Football club Benfica de Macau is ready to participate in the Asia Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2018 group stage. Several Benfica representatives have acknowledged this opportunity as “unique” with team coach Bernardo Tavares saying, “we are going to try to do our best since this is a unique opportunity for Benfica de Macau and for Macau’s football [in general].” Tavares was launching the match, scheduled for today, at the pre-match press conference held yesterday afternoon at the Macau Stadium. In the coach’s opinion, “the fact that we play the Taiwan team in the first home match can be an extra motivation, since theoretically it is the easier team [from the group].” Tavares went on to promise that Benfica will be “a fierce team and a team that will fight for the 3 points [match win].” In response to the reports that Benefica is the favorite to win, Tavares said the fact that Benfica has already completed six championship matches this season in comparison to the opponents, whose championship has not started yet, might play in favor of the Macau team. However, he went on to add that, “the fact they haven’t yet started the championship also provides a surprise factor, as we [don’t have a] chance to access data and video to study the team. Our only footage of an official match from the Taiwan team goes back to last season’s final match in November.” Benfica’s president, Duarte Alves, said that “this participation is an all new chapter in the history of Macau football,” adding, “I hope these six matches […]can give a good image of football in Macau and that [that will] further motivate the population and the press to follow the ‘King of the Sports’ in the MSAR and obviously to get a wider exposure from the club and from our sponsors that grant the chance for us to [play] here.” Alves also hopes that other local teams will learn and be motivated to believe that it is possible to play at this level and to host these kinds of games in Macau. The president believes the example will spur local teams on to work harder individually and collectively “elevat[ing] the level of football in Macau.” On the side of Hang Yuen FC, the coach Hung Chin-Hwai hopes that it will be a very competitive match, remarking that there are no favorites; “It’s 50-50,” Hung said. Still, he hopes to win the match and to give victory to the club but also to Taiwan, as he feels the responsibility of being the first Taiwanese team playing in the AFC Cup competition. A Haitian player of Hang Yuen FC, Jean-Marc Alexandre, said “the team is prepared, we have been physically prepared for the match by the coach and team staff, we are now only missing the mental part which is the game itself to be played […] I can say that everyone is really excited for the game and to show everyone what we can do.” To prepare the team for the match against Benfica, coach Hung noted that they have been doing “video analysis, and [could observe] that Benfica plays strong football but my team is good in pressing and movement so I expect a good match.” Remarking on the group teams and upon which teams he believes to be stronger sides, Hung noted, “Probably [North Korea’s] 4.25 SC team, as they are the most experienced team and have several players playing in their national team.”