KUALA LUMPUR − The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) announced today that the official draw for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 will take place on Tuesday, September 21, at 3pm. The draw will be hosted as a virtual event for the first time in AFF Suzuki Cup history.
As the ASEAN region continues to recover from the pandemic, AFF has decided that for the safety and wellbeing of all involved, the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 official draw will take place virtually from a studio, with the majority of the AFF member associations and stakeholders joining the proceedings remotely from their respective countries.
AFF president, major general Khiev Sameth, shared: “The safety of everyone involved in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 is our top priority and we cannot compromise on the health of our teams, partners and stakeholders during these uncertain times. As such, we have decided to host the official draw as a virtual event.
“We feel it is important to proceed with the draw to give teams clarity on their tournament groupings and opponents so as to better prepare for the tournament taking place at the end of the year. We can’t wait to see how the draw pans out, and the action that will unfold in a couple of months.”
SPORTIVE South-East Asia managing director, Malcolm Thorpe, said: “This is the first time that AFF will be hosting a virtual official draw for the AFF Suzuki Cup, and we are delighted to be able to play a part in bringing this to life. We fully support AFF in changing the official draw to a virtual one to prioritise the health and safety of all involved.
“With the advance of ‘live’ streaming and virtual hosting technologies, the opportunity to deliver a creative solution for the virtual draw has been exciting and we hope that fans from around the region will tune in to be a part of that experience.”
In addition to the official draw, there will also be a short pre-and post-draw show supported by the event sponsor Midea, where Singapore football legend, Fandi Ahmad, will share his insights into the tournament history and give his views on the official draw results and his predictions for some of the upcoming matches in December.
The pre-draw show will start at 2.40pm and the post-draw show will follow the ‘live’ broadcast of the official draw. These can be viewed on Goal Asia’s Facebook page as well as on their Twitter page.
To celebrate this important milestone for AFF Suzuki Cup 2020, official timekeeper sponsor, Casio, will be launching custom-designed watches inspired by some of the participating countries’ national symbols. Every player from each of the participating national teams will receive a Casio G-SHOCK watch as a memento for competing in the tournament.
The AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 has been scheduled to take place between December 5. 2021 to January 1, 2022. Further details of the event will be shared in due course. – The Vibes, September 16, 2021
Fans can watch the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 official draw ‘live’ on the following channels and social media platforms:
Astro: Arena Channel 801, Supersport, Go (digital), Sooka (digital)
RTM: RTM Sports HD, RTM digital platforms
Website: https://affsuzukicup.com/2020/fan-zone/group-draw
YouTube: https://youtu.be/E7F6fiJ5sic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/affsuzukicup/
