INDONESIA HOTLINE

Musthofid , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 08/28/2008 10:12 AM | Sports

Indonesia drew a place Wednesday alongside three-time and defending champion Singapore in Group A for this year's AFF Championship, the biennial soccer championship among the Southeast Asian nations.

AFF welcomed automotive maker Suzuki, traditional sponsor of racing competitions, as the new main sponsor after 12 years of underwriting from Tiger Brewing Company.

The main round will see eight teams divided into two groups. The draw, conducted in Jakarta on Wednesday, also put Myanmar in Group A; Group B comprises Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The fourth team in each group will be set after qualifying matches in Cambodia next month.

The draw, which was attended by representatives from all 11 soccer associations in the region, could have put Indonesia in a potentially difficult prospect had it been Vietnam instead of Myanmar.

"Vietnam would have be more difficult to tackle than Myanmar," said Nugraha Besoes, secretary-general of the Indonesian Soccer Association.

The five teams vying for the last two berths are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Timor Leste.

The qualifiers are scheduled to take place Oct. 17-25. The main rounds will run Dec. 5-10 with Jakarta hosting Group A and Bangkok hosting Group B.

The tournament will then switch to home-and-away format played over two legs: Dec. 16 and 21 for semifinals and Dec. 24 and 28 for the final match-up.

With Suzuki sponsorship, the championship title now becomes AFF Suzuki Cup.

"Soccer is a popular sport in the world. It creates excitement among young people. It's a pleasure to join the event," said Kenichi Ayukawa, Suzuki deputy executive for global marketing.

"We have already sponsored the Asian Cup and East Asian Cup. Now we are expanding to this region," he said.

Thailand and Singapore are the only two teams to have won the trophy, three times each. After battling the odds to win in 1998, Singapore took the trophy in the last two editions. Thailand triumphed in 1996, 2000 and 2002.

After securing the runner-up position three times, Indonesia is looking forward to the tournament with confidence.

"Given the teams in the group, we have a good chance to advance to the semifinals," said Nugraha, adding that the team planned to warm up with friendly matches twice before the tournament.

During the ongoing six-team Independence Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia trounced Myanmar 4-0 in group stage in what was looked to as a morale-boosting practice rehearsal ahead of the championship.

Myanmar failed to advance to the final after it lost 5-3 to Libya in a semifinal match on Wednesday. The other semifinal match pit two Indonesia teams with Bambang Pamungkas playing against their juniors in Indonesian under-21. The match was still underway at press time.

AFF Suzuki Cup

Draw results for the AFF Suzuki Cup soccer championship:

Group A
1. Indonesia
2. Singapore
3. Myanmar
4. Qualifier runner-up

Group B
1. Thailand
2. Malaysia
3. Vietnam
4. Qualifier winner