photo from futbolexclusivo.com
I was at the stadium watching SAF taking on J-League Champion, Kashima Antlers, in year 2009 where some beautiful football were displayed. Ultimately, the score of 4-1 was in favor of the Japanese team but SAF was not totally outclassed. SAF’s determination and hardwork did give Antlers some pretty hard time in the 90 minutes too!
Although Singapore teams were not eligible to participate in the ACL after failing to meet the criteria of being an all local team league, the dream of playing against, or probably playing among the top Asian teams will not be too far away from now. Singapore’s AFC Champions League (ACL) dream is once again alive! Singapore’s S-League clubs could be playing against some of the best clubs in Asia soon!
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) presented their case to the Asian’s head, Asian Football Confederation (AFC), to participate in the upcoming ACL and it has been accepted.
According to Goal.com Singapore, AFC now ruling that member associations (MAs) who fail to meet tournament criteria still be allowed to participate in ACL, but with a points deduction system being put in place instead.
A minimum number of 600 points out of a possible 1000 is, however, required for the MAs to qualify for participation. Four direct slots will be given to the top two ranked MAs in the East and West zone, and the third-place MAs will be handed three direct slots and one playoff spot. Fourth and fifth ranked MAs will get two direct and one playoff, and one direct and one playoff spot respectively. Singapore, are believed to be among the sixth to eighth ranked MAs, and might be given one playoff spot. However there is a possibility that Singapore may fall short of the minimum points requirement for the immediate year.
So hopefully very soon, Singapore’s stadiums would be filled with exciting and beautiful football actions with some of the top Asian teams coming over to Singapore. As a football fan, I really appreciate what FAS has done, particularly in this case, and hope that Singapore’s upcoming participation in the future’s ACL will draw the crowd to the stadiums! Final word to ACL’s teams, we are coming!
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