SAFF Thread

Discussion in 'Asian Football Confederation' started by druryfire, Jul 10, 2009.

  1. edrees

    edrees Member

    Nov 28, 2005
    Now it will turn into a 4 and 3 group.

    Saff are going downhill..

    I doubt it will be split up, but then again, there are too many confederations in my opinion
     
  2. druryfire

    druryfire Member

    Sep 10, 2007
    England
    India and Bangladesh have no common interests with ASEAN members so I can't see that ever happening.

    SAFF Championship has been played with 7 nations before so it's not an issue.

    Just because Pakistan are shooting themselves in the foot doesn't mean that everyone else suddenly wants to jump to another federation.
     
  3. druryfire

    druryfire Member

    Sep 10, 2007
    England
  4. druryfire

    druryfire Member

    Sep 10, 2007
    England
  5. druryfire

    druryfire Member

    Sep 10, 2007
    England
  6. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    After a tumultuous year for the Football Association of Maldives, the 2016 football calendar in Maldives just concluded and for the first time in years, people who follow local football here are pleasantly surprised at how things turned out.

    Refreshingly the three tournaments were won by three different teams:
    Dhivehi Premier League: Maziya S&RC
    FA Cup: Club Valencia
    President's Cup: Club Eagles

    The league, although a lot closer than recent years, was unsurprisingly won by Maziya (their first ever league title), the moneyball club who have invested heavily over the past few seasons to bring in the country's best players. Club Valencia, a traditional powerhouse of Maldives, won their first trophy in eight years after being in the doldrums in recent seasons with financial mismanagement. Their comeback is a refreshing breath of fresh air for followers of Maldivian football. Both these clubs will play in the AFC Cup next year.

    The story of the season, however, belongs to Club Eagles, the family run club that have remained true to their roots since their inception in 1989. They finished third in the league despite having the smallest budget and the youngest squad, with an average age of 23, in the whole division. I kind of wish they made it to the AFC Cup as well, but alas, we only have two slots in the competition. I will try to bring you the story of Club Eagles in my next post, because I think their model is one which other SAFF clubs can utilize to be successful in their respective leagues.
     
  7. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    The 2nd Sheikh Kamal International Gold Cup will be hosted by Bangladesh from 18th February to 3rd March. Participating teams are:

    Bangladesh
    Dhaka Abahani
    Chittagong Abahani
    Dhaka Mohammedan

    Nepal
    Manang Marsyangdi

    Afghanistan
    Shaheen Asmayee

    Philippines
    Stallion FC

    Maldives
    TC Sports Club

    S. Korea
    FC Pocheon

    Dhaka Abahani, Manang Marsyangdi and Shaheen Asmayee are the reigning champions of their respective leagues.

    Stallion finished a disappointing 6th in theirs, while TC Sports Club are the perennial runners-up, having finished 2nd place in the league and even losing in the FA Cup and President's Cup finals. They were offered the chance to participate in this tournament by FAM after both league and FA Cup champions, Maziya and Club Valencia declined their offers due to AFC Cup engagements. This is only their second season in the top flight, having climbed up the divisions with an ethos of picking players from troubled backgrounds and giving them a new lease of life.

    FC Pocheon currently ply their trade in the fourth tier of the Korean football pyramid and their squad consists of part-timers.
     
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  8. +PL+

    +PL+ Member+

    Jun 22, 2015
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    So Afghanistan are back to SAFF again! What a surprise!
     
  9. Pelefan

    Pelefan Member+

    Mar 17, 1999
    Chicago
    #359 Pelefan, Feb 11, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2017
    Stallion FC played a friendly against the Maldives national team last year in Manila which resulted in a 2-2 draw. Of course that was a different team from this year's edition and are currently in preseason so they are looking for matches before the season starts in April.

    http://pff.org.ph/2015/08/30/stallion-fc-maldives-draw-friendly-match/

    Maybe that is why Stallions FC was invited.
     
  10. edrees

    edrees Member

    Nov 28, 2005
    Its not a Saff tournement,
    its a invitational club competition, South Korea and Phillipines have sent there respective clubs too, so doesnt mean they have joined saff :D

    Afghanistan is still in CAFA
     
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  11. Afghan-Juventus

    Afghan-Juventus Member+

    Oct 14, 2012
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Afghanistan
    If it actually exists :D
     
  12. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    To be honest, I wouldn't mind if Afghanistan are invited to play in the SAFF Championship this year. But I think AIFF see you guys as too much of a threat to their dominance now, so it's probably wishful thinking.
     
  13. edrees

    edrees Member

    Nov 28, 2005
    The more games you play, the better it is, it's good for Afghanistan football, but unfortunately SAFF is the only federation that have gone backwards.

    This is why India are always reluctant to play and I wouldn't be surprised that in future SAFF tucks they send an underage squad.
     
  14. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    Yeah, India are always trying to play down the SAFF Cup and constantly threaten to send underage squads (which, save for 2009 when they sent a "Under-23 squad" with several overage players), but always end up sending in their strongest squad.

    Apparently they're too big and too good for the tournament, yet insist on hosting one every other year.
     
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  15. edrees

    edrees Member

    Nov 28, 2005
    But reality is, that India are the best in the region, the only team that can come close to them is Nepal, the rest are very poor level and that is because the respective federations do not invest or have any sort of long term plan.
     
  16. jonny63

    jonny63 Member+

    Feb 17, 2005
    Norway
    In this edition of the tournament, 8 club teams will participate to fight for the prestigious trophy including five foreign teams.

    The teams are: Shaheen Asmayee FC (Afghanistan), Manang Marshyangdi Club (Nepal), TC Sports Club (Maldives), Pocheon Citizen Football Club (South Korea), FC Alga Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Dhaka Abahani Limited, Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited and hosts Chittagong Abahani Limited.

    The official draw and trophy unveiling ceremony of the 'Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup 2017' will be held at 3:30 pm on February 13 (Monday), 2017 at the ball room of Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

    http://www.bff.com.bd/bff/index.php...-begins-feb-18&catid=34:latest-news&Itemid=74
     
  17. Pelefan

    Pelefan Member+

    Mar 17, 1999
    Chicago
    I guess Stallions FC will not be playing after all.
     
  18. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    That is true, and Nepal's investment at grassroots level appear to be showing signs of promise.

    I think the steps taken by Maldives and to an extent, Sri Lanka during recent times is also very encouraging. Both nations have revamped their league and cup competitions for greater inclusion of clubs from all over the country, thus considerably expanding their talent pool. Bhutan's added experience in competitive international matches will hopefully kickstart them as well. Only Bangladesh and Pakistan appear to be the problem nations.

    After a few tumultuous years where nothing was being done, FAM finally have a President, a functioning ExCo with actually talented individuals and a Technical Committee with a foreign Technical Director. Clubs playing in the top two divisions are required to have their youth academies, so these clubs have made agreements with local schools to train kids who want to play football. Also the Male'-centric approach that was used in the past has been scrapped, and teams from other parts of the country, where 2/3rd of the population live, will get to play in the Premier League starting from this year.

    I think for all their recent investment in football, India knows that they are still some way behind the ASEAN and CAFF nations in terms of quality and secretly enjoy being dominant in one area. India, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives will play a lot of matches before December, so I think the SAFF Cup is going to be pretty competitive this year.
     
  19. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    https://www.maldivesfootball.com/story/TC-groups-in-A-with-tough-opponents-110

    Group A
    Dhaka Abahani Ltd
    Alga Bishkek FC
    TC Sports Club
    Pocheon Citizen Club

    Group B
    Chittagong Abahani
    Manang Marsyangdi
    Dhaka Mohammedan
    Shaheen Asmayee

    I have no idea how Alga Bishkek replaced Stallions FC at the last minute, but there you go! Also, this would be a great experience for many of the TC Sports Club players, some of whom have never step foot out of Maldives before. They are going to have a couple of games in hand in the league when they come back, but I'm sure they won't mind.
     
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  20. BrainFallIndia

    Jun 4, 2016
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Any news about SAFF Cup dates ?
     
  21. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    http://bdnews24.com/sport/2016/01/02/bangladesh-to-host-2017-saff-championship

    "The 12th edition would commence in December, 2017, according to SAFF General Secretary Anwarul Haque Helal."

    December is the only realistic time when it could be held, as Asian Cup qualifiers for India, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan would run from March to November.
     
  22. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    Group A
    FC Pocheon 2-0 FC Alga Bishkek
    Dhaka Abahani 0-1 TC Sports Club

    Group B
    Dhaka Mohammedan 0-2 Manang Marsyangdi
    Chittagong Abahani 3-1 Shaheen Asmayee

    Alga Bishkek's manager's response to his sides' defeat was that "South Korea played in a World Cup semi-final." What a bizarre excuse!
     
  23. edrees

    edrees Member

    Nov 28, 2005
    The South Korean club playing in this tournament is in div 4 of the South Korean league.
     
  24. Fureeku

    Fureeku Member

    Feb 9, 2011
    Maldives
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Maldives
    Yes, the Alga Bishkek manager reminds of the sort of thing old Maldivians say whenever the national team got beaten by a bunch of middle-aged Italian cargo ship crew back in the 70s. Back then, cargo ships crossing the Indian Ocean would often make rest stops at Maldives for a few days and their crew would unwind by playing football with the locals. Of course, our hastily assembled national team would get thrashed by them, and the locals would talk about how fortunate we were to have had the opportunity to play against "World Cup winners"...
     
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  25. BrainFallIndia

    Jun 4, 2016
    Club:
    Arsenal FC

    http://indianexpress.com/article/sp...entral-asia-competitions-stephen-constantine/

    Lots of people involved with Indian Football want this to happen except the AIFF who would like to project SAFF cup victory as the epitomy of success and progress . We should be playing bigger and better teams like Thailand,Indonesia etc,that's how we should be preparing for ACQs and WCQs . In SAFF i don't think anyone except Afghanistan provide some serious competition (With all due respect,No offence meant) and you need serious competition to actually progress.
     

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