Cambodia in the fray at AFF futsal tournament

The Cambodian national futsal team, including five officials and 14 players, flew to Bangkok yesterday afternoon ahead of participation in the 10-nation 2012 AFF Futsal Championship, which gets underway tomorrow. 

Head coach Hok Sotitya told the Post before heading to the airport yesterday that his players have been selected from futsal clubs competing in the annual national championships and tournaments and had been training for the past month-and-a-half. 

They had also played friendlies against other local sides to gain familiarity as a team. 

“In recent friendly games, our most impressive win was 29-0 but this result is not comparable to what we face in the upcoming campaign. They [the Cambodian national team players] have never played in international games, let alone on foreign soil, so their confidence is not good,” he said.

“Their energy and technique is acceptable but they suffer from nerves when playing in front of large crowds which can alter their playing style. We have already seen this aspect when they played in the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship in Thailand.”

Since 2001, Thailand have dominated, claiming the title seven times while Indonesia have won it once. Cambodia have made two appearances and finished fourth on both occasions. 

In 2003, Cambodia were obliterated 29-0 by Indonesia in the third place playoff, although Cambodia’s Chan Veasna registered the second highest goal count of the competition with 12 goals. 

In 2006, Cambodia side were beaten 10-2 by Myanmar at the same stage.

Thailand also triumphed 3-1 over Indonesia in the final of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification tournament held in Bangkok in February. 

Cambodia had lost all of their group games and failed to advance to the knockout rounds. 

The upcoming eight-day event organised by regional football governing body the ASEAN Football Federation, sees Cambodian drawn in Group A with Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Myanmar, while Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Timor Leste and Brunei comprise Group B. 

In opening day match-ups tomorrow at the Krungthep Thonburi Indoor Stadium, Cambodia will face Malaysia while Myanmar meet Philippines. 

In Group B, Timor Leste have a tough game against Indonesia while Laos clash with Brunei. 

---

To contact the reporter on this story: Chhorn Norn at newsroom@phnompenhpost.com
Translated by In Sopheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012041855614/Sport/cambodia-in-the-fray-at-aff-futsal-tournament.html

ALL MATCHES FOR AFF FUTSAL IN BANGKOK THONBURI STADIUM

ALL MATCHES FOR AFF FUTSAL IN BANGKOK THONBURI STADIUM

APRIL 17, 2012  

BANGKOK (17 April 2012) – All matches for the AFF Futsal Championship 2012 will now be played at the Bangkok Thonburi Stadium.

This follows certain logistical complication which has forced the organizing committee to change from their earlier schedule of having concurrent matches being played at the Karaves Stadium.

The team managers’ meeting for the AFF Futsal Championship 2012 will be held tomorrow at the Asia Hotel at 1500hrs.

AFF FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2012 FIXTURES

Date/Day	Match No.	Group	Match	Time	Venue
17-Apr-12	Arrival of Teams & Officials
18-Apr-12	Team Managers’ Meeting
19-Apr-12	1 2 3 4	A A B B	Cambodia vs Malaysia Myanmar vs  Philippines Timor Leste vs Indonesia Laos vs Brunei DS	1130 1400 1630 1900	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
20-Apr-12	5 6 7 8	A A B B	Philippines vs Vietnam Myanmar vs Cambodia Brunei DS vs Thailand Laos vs  Timor Leste	1130 1400 1900 1630	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
21-Apr-12	9 10 11 12	A A B B	Vietnam vs Myanmar Malaysia vs  Philippines Thailand vs Laos Indonesia vs Brunei DS	1130 1400 1900 1630	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
22-Apr-12	13 14 15 16	A A B B	Myanmar vs  Malaysia Cambodia vs Vietnam Laos vs Indonesia Timor Leste vs  Thailand	1130 1400 1900 1630	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
23-Apr-12	17 18 19 20	A A B B	Philippines vs Cambodia Malaysia vs ietnam Brunei DS vs Timor Leste Indonesiavs Thailand	1400 1400 1630 1630	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
24-Apr-12	Rest Day
25-Apr-12	21 22	SF1 SF2	Winner AvsRunner-up B Winner B vsRunner-up A	1400 1700	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
26-Apr-12	Rest Day
27-Apr-12	23 24	3rd/4th Final	Loser SF1vs Loser SF2 Winner SF1vsWinnerSF2	1400 1700	Bangkok Thonburi Stadium
28-Apr-12	Departure of Teams & Officials http://www.aseanfootball.org/?p=8142

Avramovic will lead Singapore in Suzuki Cup

Avramovic will lead Singapore in Suzuki Cup

by Shamir Osman

04:45 AM Apr 17, 2012

SINGAPORE - The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) have resisted calls to relieve national football coach Radojko Avramovic of his post after the Lions' dismal showing in the third round of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers.

Last night, the executive council sat for some three hours at FAS' Jalan Besar headquarters in a meeting that included a review of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

The FAS then released a statement backing the Serb, at least until after December's AFF Suzuki Cup.

Said FAS president Zainudin Nordin: "The target set for Avramovic was to qualify for the third round and he achieved that.

"The ex-co has analysed his track record and we are confident that under his leadership the team can achieve the target of qualifying for the final of the Suzuki Cup."

The Lions entered the World Cup qualifiers after some poor outings.

They were booted out of the 2010 Suzuki Cup and failed to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup finals.

While they managed to qualify for the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, they lost all six of their Group A fixtures, including a 7-1 mauling at the hands of Iraq.

As a result, the Lions have dropped to 158 in March's FIFA rankings, the lowest for the Republic.

Based on Avramovic's report submitted to the ex-co, the FAS put the poor showing in the World Cup qualifiers down to defensive lapses on the pitch, the lack of depth in the team, and poor match fitness of the players at international level.

"The ex-co is in agreement with all that was in Raddy's report and we will work within our constraints to make sure that the team is prepared well for the Suzuki Cup; and continue on our rebuilding and renewal process," said Zainudin.

While Zainudin asserted that the team should have performed better, he added: "The FAS Technical Department will work with Avramovic to rectify the technical and tactical mistakes committed by the team during the qualifying campaign."

The FAS are looking at new players in the national set up to change their fortunes at the Suzuki Cup - South-east Asia's biggest football competition.

Said Zainudin: "The only way to rebuild is to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of players coming through the ranks. With the LionsXII and the Courts Young Lions doing well, we are hoping that the pipeline will be strong with those new players available for national team selection.

AFF Futsal Championship 2012 will kick off on 19 April

• AFF Futsal Championship 2012 
  Will kick off on 19 April, in Bangkok, Thailand
  ASEAN football fan don''t miss it and Lao football fan please cheer Laos, because this is the first time that Laos sends Futsal Team to compete in the international level.
  
  
  
  Group A
  1. Vietnam
  2. Malaysia
  3. Cambodia
  4. Philippines
  5. Myanmar
  
  Group B
  1. Thailand
  2. Indonesia
  3. Timor Leste
  4. Brunei DS
  5. Laos