News Singapore Premier League • March 1, 2021
Singapore confirmed as AFC Cup hosts for Groups H and I
Naqiuddin Eunos (Lion City Sailors) and Darren Teh (Geylang International) battling for the ball during a 2020 SPL match
SINGAPORE, 1 MARCH 2021 – The Lion City Sailors and Geylang International will contest their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2021 group-stage matches on home soil after the AFC confirmed Singapore as a centralised venue for Groups H and I.
This was announced earlier today by the Asian football governing body, who had stated in late January that the group stages of both the AFC Champions League (ACL) and AFC Cup for 2021 would be played at centralised venues. The AFC stated that the venues were determined after “an extensive bidding process and after close consultation with its Participating Member Associations”.
Mr Yazeen Buhari, General Secretary, Football Association of Singapore (FAS), said: “We would like to thank the AFC for its confidence in Singapore. With this news of us being the host city for both groups, we will discuss in detail with Sport Singapore and other relevant government agencies the conditions we need to establish during this pandemic to keep the competition safe. The FAS prioritises the health and safety of the players and officials and we will spare no effort to ensure our local community remains safe.”
The Sailors (H) and Geylang (I), whose groups are part of the ASEAN Zone, are scheduled to play their continental games from between 22 to 28 June. Aurelio Vidmar’s Sailors will face Malaysia Super League (MSL) runners-up Kedah Darul Aman, V.League 1 second runners-up Sài Gòn and a play-off winner. Meanwhile, Mohd Noor Ali’s Eagles will battle Philippines Football League runners-up Kaya FC-Iloilo, MSL third-placed finishers Terengganu FC and either Shan United (Myanmar National League champions) or Ayeyawady United (Myanmar National League third-placed finishers; in the event that Shan United qualify for the ACL group stage, they will be the replacement).
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Apart from Singapore, the AFC also confirmed host venues for Groups A (Manama, Bahrain), B, C (both Amman, Jordan), D (Male, Maldives), E (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), F (Dushanbe, Tajikistan) and J (Hong Kong). Only Group G is unassigned, with the venue to be determined at a later date.
