Brunei ready for the first international appearance in AFF Cup qualifiers after four-year Fifa's suspension

Brunei is set to return to South-East Asia's biennial tournament after a four-year absence due to sanctions from Fifa.

The 2012 AFF Cup will be the first tournament for the Wasps since their last international appearance in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka.

Thailand defend ASEAN U-13 Cup football title

Kuala Lumpur, July 15 (IANS) Thailand defended their title as they came from behind to beat Malaysia Yellow 2-1 in the final of the 4th edition of the Yamaha ASEAN Cup Under-13 tournament at the Petaling Jaya Stadium here Sunday.

Thailand, who had won the Cup in 2011 at home, became the first team to retain the title.

With the defeat Malaysia also became the first host not to win the title since it was inaugurated in 2008 in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Kelantanwin win Malaysian Super League football championship

Kota Bharu - AFC Cup 2012 quarter-finalists Kelantan were officially crowned champions of the Malaysian Super League after a thrilling 3-1 victory over Sarawak at home at Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium, Kota Bharu, on Saturday.

They had won the championship, their second Malaysian Super League (MSL) title in a row, when they still had two more games to go after thrashing Perak 6-0 also at home on July 7.

AFF Cup draw pits Vietnam against Thailand in Group A

The 2012 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup drawing in Bangkok on Wednesday put Vietnam in Group A along with hosts Thailand, the Philippines and the top-placed team in the qualifiers.

AFF SUZUKI CUP IS FOR ASEAN: ABDUL RAHMAN

AFF SUZUKI CUP IS FOR ASEAN: ABDUL RAHMAN

 JULY 13, 2012  

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (13 July 2012) –After a four-year hiatus, Brunei are looking forward to making a positive return to ASEAN’s biggest football extravaganza – the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Dato Paduka Abdul Rahman Mohiddin, the president of the National FA of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD), said that even though the team will have to play in the qualifying in October, it is great just to be part of the fraternity once again.

“The Suzuki Cup is the biggest, largest and most competitive tournament in ASEAN and it’s also the most watched,” said Abdul Rahman.

“The Euro is for Europe, the AFF Suzuki Cup is for ASEAN.

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Cambodia new coach

Phnom Penh: Football Federation of Cambodia has announced the appointment of legend Hok Sochetra as new coach of the national team ahead of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup qualifiers from October 5 to 13, 2012.

Considered to be one of the best strikers during the 90s in Southeast Asia, Sochetra scored 42 goals in 64 internationals between 1995 and 2003. He replaced Korean manager Lee Tae-hoon.

His immediate assignment will be the Suzuki Cup where Cambodia will be playing their first matches after not being in action for more than a year.

“Sure, I’m so happy for this job, but it’s not an easy job for me. I need to work hard with confidence, this is the national team,” the 39-year-old Sochetra told the Phnom Penh Post.

“We will work hard together to lead the Cambodian team to the final stage of the Suzuki Cup.”

Sochetra has aimed not to favour any players under his management but will instead select players who are competent both on and off the pitch.

“I love every player, I don’t have any favourite player, so I’ll choose based on their competence on the field and also their discipline,” said the former Hello United FC and Samart United FC coach.

“Some players are good in playing but not good at living with other team-mates, so I will not choose them. Some fans accuse the national team when they lose because they love the team so much. But they must also know the standard of our side.

“Before playing, we never think about losing but most of us know we are unlikely to get a result against the likes of China and North Korea.”

Apart from his glory days as a player, Sochetra has also made his mark as a coach by winning the National League twice and National Cup, and was featured as one of Cambodia's most prominent coaches on the-afc.com during the celebration of the Asian Coaches Year in 2010.