Viet Nam has finished preparations to host the ASEAN Football Championship, or AFF-Suzuki Cup, the Viet Nam Football Federation’s (VFF) general secretary Tran Quoc Tuan said.

The country, which was assigned to co-host the event with Indonesia on December 1-29, has revved up preparations since April and satisfied the AFF Council members during the latest progress check on September 15.

“We have prepared the 40,000-seat My Dinh National Stadium and 20,000-seat Hang Day Stadium to host six Group B matches, where Viet Nam play Singapore, Myanmar and the qualifying runners-up,” Tuan said in a phone interview.

“We’ve also arranged five training pitches at My Dinh Sports Complex and VFF’s youth football training centre. Viet Nam has experience in organising the biggest regional football championship, having hosted the event in 1998, 2004 and the Asian Cup in 2007. The VFF also co-operated closely with AFF’s executive board in order to meet the strict criteria set forth by the AFF Council regarding stadiums, accommodation and transport.

The general secretary also said all the teams would stay at Sheraton Hotel during the six-day group competition in Ha Noi.

Viet Nam will report on its final preparations at the AFF Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur on October 9 to make sure the tournament will kick off in time.

Viet Nam will meet Myanmar in the Group B opener on December 2, while Indonesia host Malaysia in Group A on December 1.

“Viet Nam have the best ever squad available to defend the AFF Cup that the country won after a 59-year wait for a regional gold title,” Tuan stressed.

Two years ago, Viet Nam won the AFF-Suzuki Cup, which was co-hosted by Thailand and Singapore, after a 3-2 win in a two-legged final against Thailand.

Since 2002 the AFF Cup has been hosted by two countries, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals and final, which is played in a home-and-away format.

Source: VNS