Suzuki Motor Corporation returns to the sporting world via the ASEAN Football Federation Championship. The Japanese vehicle maker will once again become the title sponsor for the AFF’s flagship tournament, the AFF Suzuki Cup.
This is the sixth time that Suzuki sponsors the competition since 2008. The biennial tilt, which first began in 1996, will pit the different ASEAN teams in a bid for football supremacy. It will be recalled that Thailand took home top honors during the 2016 season, wherein Myanmar and the Philippines hosted the Group Stages for the first time.
Speaking of firsts, the 2018 season will witness quite a few firsts for the tournament. This year, the two lowest teams will go up against each other in the Qualification Round. The winner will then advance to join the top nine countries in the Group Stage. Each Group will be made up of five teams. Each of these teams will compete twice in its home country, while it will go up another two times outside. As for the semi-finals and finals matches, these will still be home-and-away contests that will be played over two legs.
What all these simply means is that there will be more home matches played in each participating country over the course of te tournament. This will help increase team and player exposure.
With all these, the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup promises to have one exciting season.
