AFF postpones Suzuki Cup due to COVID-19

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

The ASEAN Football Federation confirmed its postponement of the AFF Suzuki Cup Season 2020-2021 citing the their players’ safety amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

With the AFF’s decision of scrapping the prized football tournament this year, the Philippine Azkals will have another year to regroup and focus on other tournaments.

The AFF Suzuki Cup was originally scheduled on November 23 to December 31 but tournament organizers later decided that they can’t hold the competition this year.

“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,” said AFF president Major General Khiev Sameth.

Initially, the Suzuki Cup organizers already came up with a plan of holding all games in just a single venue and practice strict health protocols just to let the matches happen but at the end of the day, they still can’t risk all the players and coaches’ lives.

“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 added.