VIENTIANE (15 Oct 2011) – With the absence of women’s football from the SEA Games this year, the AFF Women’s Championship has now been regarded as an important fixture for football development.
Phan Anh Tu, the head of delegation for Vietnam who is also the chairman of the VFF Women’s Committee, said that the tournament this will help to further develop the game.
“We have to thank the AFF and also the LFF (Laos Football Federation) for organising this tournament as with the absence of women’s football at this year’s SEA Games, we need this championship to continue to be competitive,” said Anh Tu at the pre-match press conference this morning (pix).
“As the defending champions, we will be expecting some tough games ahead especially against Thailand. The meet will also allow us to keep tabs on the other teams from the region.”
In the meantime, Thailand have sounded the battle cry that they are ready to compete and take on the rest of the competing teams.
“We have been in a continued process of development where we will be using the same side that played in the recent final qualifying round of the 2012 Olympic Games,” added Nualphan Samsam, the team manager of Thailand.
“We are ready.”
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
“We are basically using the same team from the last SEA Games when we were the hosts in 2009. We did not have a lot of time to prepare for this championship but we are determined to reach our goal which is to play in the semi-finals.” – Viensavanh Sengchane, the team manager of Laos
“We have been in training since the start of October after picking the players from the provincial tournament. I believe that we have prepared the team well where our target is to make the semi-finals of the championship this year.” – Amos Rubino, the assistant coach of Indonesia
“Our team is young so we are just looking at putting up the best possible performance that we can. This championship is a good chance and a great opportunity to gain exposure for our players lacking in international meet.” – Suzana Foo, the team manager of Singapore
“I have only taken charge of the team for the past month. Most of the girls are from the last SEA Games. With most of them still being young, we are looking at moulding the team for the next SEA Games which we will be hosting in 2013.” – Yoshinori Kumada, the chief coach of Myanmar
“Our team is a combination of teams from the Under-16 and also the Under-19. We’ve not had many women football activities in the past two years, so this meet is important. We are looking at developing the women’s game in the long term.” – Ernest Nierras, the chief coach of the Philippines
“Our last competition was the SEA Games in 2009. Our current team is a combination of the young and older players. We started training in August but we will do our best against some of the best teams in the region.” – Alina Cheong, the team manager of Malaysia
AFF WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2011
(All matches at the National Stadium unless indicated otherwise)
GROUP A: Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos
GROUP B: Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines
16 Oct 2011: Indonesia vs Laos (1600) / Vietnam vs Singapore (1900)
17 Oct 2011: Myanmar vs Philippines (1600) / Thailand vs Malaysia (1900)
18 Oct 2011: Laos vs Vietnam (1600) / Singapore vs Indonesia (1900)
19 Oct 2011: Philippines vs Thailand (1600) / Malaysia vs Myanmar (1900)
20 Oct 2011: Indonesia vs Vietnam (1900 at National Stadium) / Laos vs Singapore (1900 at Chao Anouvong Stadium)
21 Oct 2011: Myanmar vs Thailand (1900 at National Stadium) / Philippines vs Malaysia (1900 at Chao Anouvong Stadium)
23 Oct 2011: Winner A vs Runner-up B (1600) / Winner B vs Runner-up A (1900)
25 Oct 2011: 3rd/4th (1600) / Final (1900)
