Singapore and Indonesia to co-host Tiger Cup

Singapore and Indonesia to co-host Tiger Cup

MANILA (Reuters): The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has
announced that Singapore and Indonesia will share the hosting
rights for next year's Tiger Cup.

The regional body, which is responsible for running several
events in South East Asia, had originally awarded the tournament
to Indonesia at a committee meeting during last year's event in
Thailand.

But following a conference held in the Philippines capital
Manila at the weekend, the body, made up of the 10 member nations
of the Association of South East Asian Nations, decided to alter
the arrangement.

"It'll give more of our members the opportunity to stage
competitions and added value to the spectators as the Tiger Cup
will be played in two different countries," said AFF secretary
Paul Mony Samuel.

Singapore previously hosted the first Tiger Cup in 1996 while
Indonesia was originally due to host last year's event.

However, due to the repercussions of the regional financial
downturn, Indonesia pulled out of the arrangement and Thailand
stepped in.

Next year's event will see one group played in each country.
The top two teams will qualify for the semifinals, with each
nation hosting one match.

The third place playoff and the final will be held in
Jakarta's Bung Karno Stadium.

The tournament will kick off on Aug. 30 with the final to be
held on Sept. 14.

The Thais are the current Tiger Cup champions, lifting the
trophy in November 2000 in Bangkok when they defeated Indonesia
4-1 in the final.

The ten teams taking part in the tournament are the
Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam.