VIENTIANE (18 Oct 2012) – With time running short and the fact that Laos made the cut for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 at the last possible moment, the VFF Cup in Vietnam later this month presented the only viable avenue to whip up the team for ASEAN’s premier football extravaganza.
The VFF Cup will be played on 24-28 October in Ho Chi Minh City.
“It is tough for us as we could not arrange for any friendly matches,” said Xaybandith Rasphone, the general secretary of the Laos Football Federation (LFF).
“The coach (Kokichi Kimura) had only joined the team recently and he is still adjusting. But we are glad that we made the cut for the final round of the AFF Suzuki Cup for the fourth edition in a row.
“The VFF Cup is the only option for us before we go to Malaysia (for their campaign in Group B against hosts Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore). So the team will just have to make the best of it.”
For the VFF Cup, Laos will be up against teams from Turkmenistan, South Korea and hosts Vietnam. The winner team will receive USD 25,000, while the runners-up and third-placed teams will take home USD 10,000 and USD 5,000, respectively.
