THE ASEAN Football Federation announced the postponement of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 until 2021 due to the rising cases of coronavirus in the region and around the world.
The AFF Suzuki Cup was supposed to be held November 23 to December 31 before the decision to postpone was reached by the Task Force Committee.
“Since the onset of COVID-19, the AFF has been closely monitoring guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Ministries, government agencies, FIFA and AFC,” said AFF president Major General Khiev Sameth.
“As you are aware, this pandemic continues to pose enormous health, societal and economic challenges to us all. AFF's top priority continues to be the health and safety of our football family and mitigating the impact of this pandemic.
"With the risk of the spread of COVID-19 remaining high, the AFF finds itself in a situation where we cannot proceed safely with the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020,” said Sameth.
The AFF reportedly planned to hold the matches in oone site instead of a home-and-away format due to the COVID-19, but the federation decided to shelve the plan.
“While these are unprecedented times for the whole world including our football family and communities, we are confident that we will get through it together with the support of all our stakeholders including our fans, Member Associations, players, coaches, official, media and partners and we would like to thank them for standing united with us in the fight against COVID-19,” Sameth said.
The Philippine Azkals reached the semifinals in 2018, bowing to eventual champion Vietnam, 4-2, on aggregate.
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