Post by cjeagle on Feb 26, 2017 17:05:13 GMT 8
In the first of a three-part series. We take an in-depth look at all 12 of Southeast Asia’s domestic leagues. [IMG]
by Scott McIntyre
@mcintinhos
Some have risen with great speed over the past decade or so, some have only been formed or revived over that same time frame whilst others have fallen on troubling times and others still are either on the verge of disappearing or mired in politics and corruption.
The 12 nations that comprise the Southeast Asian region of the global footballing sphere are spread almost as far apart as any other ‘sub-grouping’ across FIFA – from Vietnam and Myanmar in the north across to the sprawl of the Philippines and all the way down to Australia.
Alongside that vast geographic sprawl comes a similarly disparate range of standards amongst the local leagues in those nations.
Ranking and comparing the strengths of various leagues is a difficult task and one that has no exact scientific formula but here FOX Sports Asia – in the first of a three-part series – takes a look at those leagues that are doing well and those that have to sharpen things up.
THAILAND
OVERVIEW: Now the clear benchmark, along with Australia, in terms of both the national team and the standard of the domestic competition.
A top flight that now consists of a greater number of clubs (18) than any other in the region and a crisp, linear, structure reaching into the lower tiers and regional leagues. Thailand is one of the standard bearers for Southeast Asian football.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 18
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One direct and two ACL playoff slots
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Muangthong, Buriram, Chonburi, PEA)
STANDARD: A high quality, especially amongst the leading club sides with a very good technical level and rapidly improving tactical standard with a collection of former star players starting to transition nicely to the coaching ranks. Can be a touch individualistic at times but that is slowly changing and the TPL is also able to attract a good level of foreign talent.
[IMG]
CROWDS/MARKETING: Fluctuates between clubs but the league as a whole has decent crowds although only two (Buriram and Nakhon Ratchasima) cracked the 10,000 average mark last season.
The local press generally does an excellent job covering the league and there is a wide range of exposure of both clubs, players and the league as a whole.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
SINGAPORE
OVERVIEW: The fallen giant amongst the region; once a powerhouse in terms of glamour, crowds and spectacle, the S.League has leapt almost completely off a cliff over the past decade.
The early days of the league in the late 1990s would regularly see huge crowds, widespread media interest and some fierce battles but after the honeymoon period wore off so did the ability of the administration to keep the league viable.
Flirtation with the Malaysia league hurt, as did a lack of talent being produced and competing interests but the domestic competition is now a shell of its former self and amongst one of the worst in the region.
There are bigger crowds of people waiting on most subway stations across the island nation than there are at S.League matches and faded foreign players way past their prime being hailed as ‘stars’ have only added to the misery.
[IMG]
Aging stars have failed to boost the S.League.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 9
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff spot and another in the AFC Cup.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Six (Singapore Armed Forces, Tampines, Etoile, Warriors, Brunei DPMM, Albirex Niigata)
STANDARD: The handful of leading clubs have managed to hoard most of the national stars and as a result play some decent football but as we’ve seen in continental competition the playing and coaching standard is often found out at a higher level. Generally little tactical differentiation between the local clubs with a fairly poor technical and tactical standard right across the board.
CROWDS/MARKETING: In one word – woeful. Some of the local media battles gainfully to cover the league but the governing body does little that is visible to aid that cause and can’t even seem to organise themselves enough to release the fixtures any earlier than the eve of kickoff.
Crowds have fallen to the point where they are an open embarrassment and not even published on the official match reports.
OVERALL GRADE: C
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
OVERVIEW: In many ways Brunei are on the same fast track to irrelevance as Singapore by having a team playing in a foreign league – ironically in the S.League.
The local competition is left to flounder with a collection of poorly funded, essentially amateur clubs, battling away with the scraps left behind after Brunei DPMM have had their pick of the best local talent.
Now in its’ fifth season as the ‘Super League’ after replacing the previous ‘Premier League’, the whole season only consists of 18 matches and even with cup clashes thrown in that is not any kind of level or duration that serves the purpose of trying to groom players for the national team.
So poor are things that the governing body didn’t even bother to submit any clubs for entry to either the Champions League or AFC Cup and it’s hard to see how or when things will improve.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Ten
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Three (Indera SC, MS ABDB, QAF FC) – although the league was either not held or suspended for three seasons.
STANDARD: There are hardly any top-level coaches in the nation and as a result the quality of players that are being produced suffers as a result.
That in turn means the league is of a below average level both tactically and technically with various ‘external factors’ having played havoc with the Super League as teams are excluded from the league and the schedule is thrown upside down.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is not covered in any comprehensive manner by the local media and the Super League doesn’t even have an independent website, rather falling – in very rudimentary form – until the national association site.
Crowds are small to non-existent and the overall state of the league is very poor across the board.
OVERALL GRADE: D
MYANMAR
OVERVIEW: Now in the eighth season of professional football, Myanmar has reaped the benefits of their push to increase the standard of the local competition with a collection of talented young players tasting success at youth level by reaching the Under-20 World.
The senior team too showed in reaching the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup that regular, competitive, football is preparing the local players for the rigours of international football.
[IMG]
The improvement has been reflected in the form of the national team.
Some decent foreign talent has been drawn to the league and matches are often well attended by vocal – and colourful – supporters which has seen the Myanmar National league (MNL) continue to grow and strengthen year on year.
The challenge will be to keep the best local stars at home as other clubs throughout the region have recognised the quality of player being produced by the MNL and may soon start to raid the league.
A push to spread the league into other regions of the country outside of Yangon is difficult for various reasons but is a key factor that needs to be improved to strengthen the league overall.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff slot and two direct AFC Cup entrants.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Two (Yadanarbon, Yangon United)
STANDARD: As evidenced by the fact that only two clubs have won the league in its eight-year existence the best talent and resources are concentrated in just a small number of teams with the rest largely battling to make up the numbers.
This naturally reduces the overall standard of the league although the top 3-4 clubs are full of technically sound players who like to play an attractive, attack-minded, up-tempo brand of football.
The leading clubs, especially Yangon United – are also investing heavily in both youth facilities and general infrastructure and really helping to lift the level of the league.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There are posters plastered all over Yangon – where the vast majority of matches are held – and the league is both fairly well attended and publicised.
Foreign experts and consultants have been brought in to assist with further growing the league and the local authorities seem to have things headed in the right direction.
OVERALL GRADE: B
Ranking Southeast Asia’s domestic football leagues: Part 2
In part two of a three-part series we take a look at the state of domestic football in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia. [IMG]
LAOS
OVERVIEW: Alongside Timor-Leste, and perhaps even in a league of their own, Laos stands as a giant black eye for football in the region.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As many as eight clubs and counting withdrew from the ‘Premier’ League at the end of last season and somehow that included the defending champions (and only genuinely professional club) in Lanexang United.
Virtually the entire team of the other ‘big’ club in the country, Lao Toyota, were earlier this week handed life bans for match fixing and the Lao Federation has been sprucing/begging for entries for the new league (start date still unknown) via Facebook.
It’s unknown if there will be any professional clubs entering this league or indeed what format it will take – all this in the month where it was to have started; football in Laos is an unbridled embarrassment and there is seemingly little being done to fix it.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Unknown (but likely between 6-10)
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two AFC Cup slots (but in reality only one via the playoffs after Lanexang folded)
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Nine (Lao American College, Lao Army, Lao Bank, YOTHA FC, Lao Police, SHB Champasak, Hoang Anh Attapeu, Lao Toyota, Lanexang)
STANDARD: When the league was in a semi-orderly manner for the past couple of seasons the gap between Lanexang (champions by six points) and Lao Toyota and the rest of the league was widening to a massive level with little sign of being closed.
Now, with those clubs both as a good as gone whatever league the LFF manage to thrown together will be similar to a park-standard tournament in most Southeast Asian nations and there has to be grave fears for the future of football growth and development in the nation.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There are reports that Lanexang have not been paid their prize money from last year, that the referees have also not been paid and the league as a whole was very poorly marketed with the leading clubs clearly carrying the load for the rest of the competition with the AFC needing to urgently step in and try and clean up the sport from the top down.
OVERALL GRADE: D
PHILIPPINES
OVERVIEW: Out of the ashes of the seven-year old United Football League (UFL) comes the new Philippines Football League (PFL), set to be launched in April.
This is being marketed as the first ‘truly’ professional league in the history of the nation and certainly in terms of national reach it fits that bill with teams set to be based in Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, Cavite, Laguna and possibly Davao.
Considering that the UFL was for the most part an exclusively metro Manila-based tournament (even if teams were officially ‘based’ elsewhere) this is truly a positive move.
The problem is that scant details are in place less than two months out from the mooted start of the ‘revolutionary’ league and despite excitement at the promise of the PFL if things get off to a rocky start then sponsors and broadcasters may not stay interested for too long.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Uncertain but likely 8-10
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff and two AFC Cup group stage entrants
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (Philippine Air Force, Global, Loyola Sparks, Kaya, Stallion)
STANDARD: Yet to be determined but it will need to be a step up from the UFL to really have the impact that everybody in the Philippines hopes and that is to be grow the interest in the sport locally and to provide more home-grown talents for the national team.
Although the popularity of the sport is growing steadily, the Philippines remain (along with Australia) the only Southeast Asian nation where football is not the main game in town and poor crowds at the recent AFF Suzuki Cup that they co-hosted were a black eye for football administrators in the country.
Many of the local players are technically gifted and there have been a handful of decent foreigners who have helped to raise the level a notch but much needs to be done to send football into the mainstream orbit and the PFL is hopefully a step in the right direction.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There has been a good deal of interest in the PFL but that will need to be capitalised successfully given the UFL struggled for both mainstream media exposure and sponsors throughout its entire existence.
OVERALL GRADE: Nominal B- given the need to ensure the new league gets off to a flying start and it’s not yet clear that will be the case.
CAMBODIA
OVERVIEW: One of the oldest leagues in the region, the C-League has been running in one form or another since 1982 although it’s never really given off the impression of being a slickly run, truly professional, league likes those in other nations across Southeast Asia.
Match-fixing claims both proven and otherwise have dogged the league for decades but at least there continues to be a constant stream of technically sound players emerging from the league.
Much of that can be put down to the solid grassroots work being down by a handful of clubs, notably Phnom Penh Crown, but there is much to be done in terms of marketing and the overall tactical level of the competition to raise the C-League to the next tier of leagues in the region.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two AFC Cup playoff slots.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Phnom Penh Crown, Naga Corp, Boeung Ket, Svay Rieng)
STANDARD: Power has long been concentrated in a small handful of clubs and as is the case in Myanmar that has often led to lopsided contests and only a couple of clubs remaining in the title hunt as the league hits the home straight.
The competition is in dire need of more experienced tactical nous from outside the country to help guide and hone the impressive stock of raw playing talent that emerges from the provinces right across the country.
The move of star forward Chan Vathanaka to Japan has the potential to do wonders for the next wave of young stars coming through the league and they will see – for the first time – that there is now a genuine pathway to bigger leagues abroad.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There has long been issues with covering the league and certain ‘favours’ are often needed to be done to ensure so and crowds are also fairly modest compared to those in other nations across the region.
OVERALL GRADE: C
INDONESIA
OVERVIEW: After years of starts, re-starts, bans and turnover football in Indonesia has made that nation’s political scene seem relatively straightforward.
2017 brings yet another new dawn with the launch of the newly named Liga Satu (League One) that aims to bring all the warring groups together and herald the start of a new era of organisation and prosperity for a nation who was last year welcomed back into the international arena after a previous FIFA ban.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 18
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None (although they are aiming to submit an entry for the 2018 season onwards)
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (Persipura Jayapura, Arema, Sriwijaya, Bandung, Semen Padang)
STANDARD: With all the changes over the past decade the league has ebbed and flowed between being able to attract decent foreigners and keep their best talent to having poorly run clubs constantly turning over players and coaches and that has led to a wide range of quality on the pitch.
Technically the Indonesian players are some of the best in Asia and if this supposed new era can help harness that raw talent with some more commanding tactical control then the league can really grow.
For now though, in what’s something even close to resembling the first proper league for several seasons it’s still unknown just what the quality will be like, although there have been some encouraging signs in the ongoing President’s Cup tournament.
CROWDS/MARKETING: This is another great unknown although given just how passionate Indonesian fans are for the game – and especially for the local product – we can expect large crowds to flock to the various venues around the country and the local media always does a good job in supporting the sport.
OVERALL GRADE: B- (This is as much a predictive grade given the huge number of variables around the latest incarnation of the league but with a few seasons of stability this could easily improve)
www.foxsportsasia.com/footba...ing-southeast-asias-domestic-football-part-2/
Ranking Southeast Asian domestic football leagues: Part 3
MALAYSIA
OVERVIEW: Without question one of the most fervently passionate footballing nations in the region yet one whose league has lurched from huge crowds and some attractive styles of play to the folding of former champions and one scandal after another.
That’s often achieved even in the space of barely the lone season.
The emergence of JDT as a truly professional, forward-looking club has prompted others into action and with next year the deadline for clubs to have meet wide-ranging, league-imposed, benchmarks over how they run their organisations the future is a promising one for football in the nation.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff spot and two group stages entrants for the AFC Cup.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (JDT, Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan, Lions XI)
STANDARD: Varies widely with a handful of teams at the top tending to monopolise the best talent and by extension play the best football. Across the board though there is a worrying level of tactical innovation outside of a handful of coaches and the influence of agents and others in taking their cut of transfers means that player turnover is at times totally out of control.
That, in turn, leads to instability and inconsistency on the pitch whilst the raw technical level of the local players is also not at the same level of many of the other nations in the region.
CROWDS/MARKETING: One of the main problems faced by the league is the pervasive influence of the long-running Malaysia Cup as well as other enforced breaks throughout the season that tends to see the league play second fiddle at times.
The fact the whole season is woefully short at just 22 matches also means that it’s seemingly over before it’s begun and there needs to be a far greater emphasis placed on this as the rock for Malaysian football to construct a brighter future upon.
OVERALL GRADE: B
VIETNAM
OVERVIEW: Rapidly emerging as one of the most entertaining, technically outstanding leagues in the region with some passionate, knowledgeable support and a highly competitive league competition.
After mismanagement and match-fixing issues dogged the league for many years things seem to be getting cleaned up recently and the focus is back on the football, even if there are the occasional ‘bizarre’ events such as those which we saw at the start of last year when Hanoi FC promptly upped and moved to Ho Chi Minh City a couple of weeks into the season.
The V.League and VFF do an excellent job of trying to promote their league to an international audience and the standard of players being produced by some well-run academies is helping to raise the level on the pitch.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 14
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff and two AFC group stage slots.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Hanoi T&T, Binh Duong, Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An,)
STANDARD: With the academy setups at Hanoi T&T, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and elsewhere pouring impressive resources into developing young talent the league is suddenly flush with a crop of newly found, ‘modern’ footballers who are technically superb, comfortable on the ball and tactical able to read the flow of a match and the league is benefiting from this across the board.
The fact that those young stars have often been sent abroad for a season or two to hone their skills can only further increase the overall level of competition upon their return and whilst it would be good to see more foreign coaches in the V.League to further expand the tactical framework there’s no question that technically Vietnam is in the very top tier of Southeast Asian nations.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is active on various social media platforms and coverage of the game – both digital and print-wise – is extensive and often passionately presented.
There seems to be a real push to try and grow the game and cast of the dark shadows of the recent past and Vietnam is doing a lot of things in this regard very well.
OVERALL GRADE: B+
AUSTRALIA
OVERVIEW: The standard of television production is very good and the crowds are – easily – the best in the region, at least until Indonesia gets its act together.
The fact that there still remains only ten clubs in the competition remains a real issue though, as does the fact that there is no promotion or relegation which can lead to a stale element creeping into things as the season wears on.
Australia is also the only nation in the region to have a playoff series which brings with its positives and negatives and while technically the standard is not of the same level as several other Southeast Asian leagues the overall ‘package,’ especially around the marketing of the sport means that it should be seen as one of the better leagues in the region, despite the A-League being barely a decade old.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 10
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two direct and one ACL playoff spot.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Six (Melbourne Victory, Newcastle, Sydney FC, Brisbane, Central Coast, Adelaide)
STANDARD: Australia remains the only Southeast Asian nation to have won the Asian Champions League following Western Sydney’s success in 2014.
Other clubs have done well in Asia and that speaks volumes to the standard of talent that features in the league as the competition is also able to attract a better calibre of import than any other league across the region.
Technically, things can be a little ordinary at times but matches are generally played with a high intensity and the physical level is easily the best in Southeast Asia.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is generally fairly well marketed and the crowds are very strong across the board but especially in the larger cities of Melbourne and Sydney.
With the league adopting a salary cap it has lead to a very level playing field as the fact that there have been six different champions in the past decade points to and that helps to maintain interest from fans of most clubs, most seasons.
The finals series – where six of the ten clubs reach the post-season – whilst clearly far too high also aids with maintaining interest and crowds right until the final stages of the season.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
TIMOR LESTE
OVERVIEW: Along with Laos, Timor remains the nation with the poorest professional league standards across Southeast Asia.
After years of poorly-run, shoddy leagues that were virtually that in name only an attempt was made to get things back on track last year with the launch of the Liga Amadora.
After starting with a blaze of publicity following some high-profile Indonesian signings, many of those players quietly departed and the league passed by without a huge deal of interest either home or abroad.
There are though a handful of passionate and dedicated individuals working behind the scenes to try and professionalize the league and hope is high that things may start to improve shortly.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 8
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: The league has not been run in any consistent, viable format for much of the past decade although SLB Laulara were crowned the inaugural Liga Amadora champions in 2016.
STANDARD: The local Timorese players are technically gifted and physically strong which means many of the raw ingredients are there for the league to be a success if things can continue to grow and develop.
[IMG]
The addition of some more experienced players from Indonesia is also helping to raise the standard but for now there is little to no foreign expertise being brought in to help raise the tactical standard and it could be a while until the Timorese reach the standard of other Southeast Asian nations although it bares worth repeating that there are some very impressive individuals working to try and accomplish this.
CROWDS/MARKETING: Presently there is very little visibility or interest in the league although with the groups working feverishly to promote and develop the sport the hope is that this will quickly improve.
OVERALL GRADE: D
www.foxsportsasia.com/footba...heast-asian-domestic-football-leagues-part-3/
by Scott McIntyre
@mcintinhos
Some have risen with great speed over the past decade or so, some have only been formed or revived over that same time frame whilst others have fallen on troubling times and others still are either on the verge of disappearing or mired in politics and corruption.
The 12 nations that comprise the Southeast Asian region of the global footballing sphere are spread almost as far apart as any other ‘sub-grouping’ across FIFA – from Vietnam and Myanmar in the north across to the sprawl of the Philippines and all the way down to Australia.
Alongside that vast geographic sprawl comes a similarly disparate range of standards amongst the local leagues in those nations.
Ranking and comparing the strengths of various leagues is a difficult task and one that has no exact scientific formula but here FOX Sports Asia – in the first of a three-part series – takes a look at those leagues that are doing well and those that have to sharpen things up.
THAILAND
OVERVIEW: Now the clear benchmark, along with Australia, in terms of both the national team and the standard of the domestic competition.
A top flight that now consists of a greater number of clubs (18) than any other in the region and a crisp, linear, structure reaching into the lower tiers and regional leagues. Thailand is one of the standard bearers for Southeast Asian football.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 18
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One direct and two ACL playoff slots
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Muangthong, Buriram, Chonburi, PEA)
STANDARD: A high quality, especially amongst the leading club sides with a very good technical level and rapidly improving tactical standard with a collection of former star players starting to transition nicely to the coaching ranks. Can be a touch individualistic at times but that is slowly changing and the TPL is also able to attract a good level of foreign talent.
[IMG]
CROWDS/MARKETING: Fluctuates between clubs but the league as a whole has decent crowds although only two (Buriram and Nakhon Ratchasima) cracked the 10,000 average mark last season.
The local press generally does an excellent job covering the league and there is a wide range of exposure of both clubs, players and the league as a whole.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
SINGAPORE
OVERVIEW: The fallen giant amongst the region; once a powerhouse in terms of glamour, crowds and spectacle, the S.League has leapt almost completely off a cliff over the past decade.
The early days of the league in the late 1990s would regularly see huge crowds, widespread media interest and some fierce battles but after the honeymoon period wore off so did the ability of the administration to keep the league viable.
Flirtation with the Malaysia league hurt, as did a lack of talent being produced and competing interests but the domestic competition is now a shell of its former self and amongst one of the worst in the region.
There are bigger crowds of people waiting on most subway stations across the island nation than there are at S.League matches and faded foreign players way past their prime being hailed as ‘stars’ have only added to the misery.
[IMG]
Aging stars have failed to boost the S.League.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 9
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff spot and another in the AFC Cup.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Six (Singapore Armed Forces, Tampines, Etoile, Warriors, Brunei DPMM, Albirex Niigata)
STANDARD: The handful of leading clubs have managed to hoard most of the national stars and as a result play some decent football but as we’ve seen in continental competition the playing and coaching standard is often found out at a higher level. Generally little tactical differentiation between the local clubs with a fairly poor technical and tactical standard right across the board.
CROWDS/MARKETING: In one word – woeful. Some of the local media battles gainfully to cover the league but the governing body does little that is visible to aid that cause and can’t even seem to organise themselves enough to release the fixtures any earlier than the eve of kickoff.
Crowds have fallen to the point where they are an open embarrassment and not even published on the official match reports.
OVERALL GRADE: C
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
OVERVIEW: In many ways Brunei are on the same fast track to irrelevance as Singapore by having a team playing in a foreign league – ironically in the S.League.
The local competition is left to flounder with a collection of poorly funded, essentially amateur clubs, battling away with the scraps left behind after Brunei DPMM have had their pick of the best local talent.
Now in its’ fifth season as the ‘Super League’ after replacing the previous ‘Premier League’, the whole season only consists of 18 matches and even with cup clashes thrown in that is not any kind of level or duration that serves the purpose of trying to groom players for the national team.
So poor are things that the governing body didn’t even bother to submit any clubs for entry to either the Champions League or AFC Cup and it’s hard to see how or when things will improve.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Ten
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Three (Indera SC, MS ABDB, QAF FC) – although the league was either not held or suspended for three seasons.
STANDARD: There are hardly any top-level coaches in the nation and as a result the quality of players that are being produced suffers as a result.
That in turn means the league is of a below average level both tactically and technically with various ‘external factors’ having played havoc with the Super League as teams are excluded from the league and the schedule is thrown upside down.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is not covered in any comprehensive manner by the local media and the Super League doesn’t even have an independent website, rather falling – in very rudimentary form – until the national association site.
Crowds are small to non-existent and the overall state of the league is very poor across the board.
OVERALL GRADE: D
MYANMAR
OVERVIEW: Now in the eighth season of professional football, Myanmar has reaped the benefits of their push to increase the standard of the local competition with a collection of talented young players tasting success at youth level by reaching the Under-20 World.
The senior team too showed in reaching the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup that regular, competitive, football is preparing the local players for the rigours of international football.
[IMG]
The improvement has been reflected in the form of the national team.
Some decent foreign talent has been drawn to the league and matches are often well attended by vocal – and colourful – supporters which has seen the Myanmar National league (MNL) continue to grow and strengthen year on year.
The challenge will be to keep the best local stars at home as other clubs throughout the region have recognised the quality of player being produced by the MNL and may soon start to raid the league.
A push to spread the league into other regions of the country outside of Yangon is difficult for various reasons but is a key factor that needs to be improved to strengthen the league overall.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff slot and two direct AFC Cup entrants.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Two (Yadanarbon, Yangon United)
STANDARD: As evidenced by the fact that only two clubs have won the league in its eight-year existence the best talent and resources are concentrated in just a small number of teams with the rest largely battling to make up the numbers.
This naturally reduces the overall standard of the league although the top 3-4 clubs are full of technically sound players who like to play an attractive, attack-minded, up-tempo brand of football.
The leading clubs, especially Yangon United – are also investing heavily in both youth facilities and general infrastructure and really helping to lift the level of the league.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There are posters plastered all over Yangon – where the vast majority of matches are held – and the league is both fairly well attended and publicised.
Foreign experts and consultants have been brought in to assist with further growing the league and the local authorities seem to have things headed in the right direction.
OVERALL GRADE: B
Ranking Southeast Asia’s domestic football leagues: Part 2
In part two of a three-part series we take a look at the state of domestic football in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia. [IMG]
LAOS
OVERVIEW: Alongside Timor-Leste, and perhaps even in a league of their own, Laos stands as a giant black eye for football in the region.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As many as eight clubs and counting withdrew from the ‘Premier’ League at the end of last season and somehow that included the defending champions (and only genuinely professional club) in Lanexang United.
Virtually the entire team of the other ‘big’ club in the country, Lao Toyota, were earlier this week handed life bans for match fixing and the Lao Federation has been sprucing/begging for entries for the new league (start date still unknown) via Facebook.
It’s unknown if there will be any professional clubs entering this league or indeed what format it will take – all this in the month where it was to have started; football in Laos is an unbridled embarrassment and there is seemingly little being done to fix it.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Unknown (but likely between 6-10)
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two AFC Cup slots (but in reality only one via the playoffs after Lanexang folded)
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Nine (Lao American College, Lao Army, Lao Bank, YOTHA FC, Lao Police, SHB Champasak, Hoang Anh Attapeu, Lao Toyota, Lanexang)
STANDARD: When the league was in a semi-orderly manner for the past couple of seasons the gap between Lanexang (champions by six points) and Lao Toyota and the rest of the league was widening to a massive level with little sign of being closed.
Now, with those clubs both as a good as gone whatever league the LFF manage to thrown together will be similar to a park-standard tournament in most Southeast Asian nations and there has to be grave fears for the future of football growth and development in the nation.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There are reports that Lanexang have not been paid their prize money from last year, that the referees have also not been paid and the league as a whole was very poorly marketed with the leading clubs clearly carrying the load for the rest of the competition with the AFC needing to urgently step in and try and clean up the sport from the top down.
OVERALL GRADE: D
PHILIPPINES
OVERVIEW: Out of the ashes of the seven-year old United Football League (UFL) comes the new Philippines Football League (PFL), set to be launched in April.
This is being marketed as the first ‘truly’ professional league in the history of the nation and certainly in terms of national reach it fits that bill with teams set to be based in Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, Cavite, Laguna and possibly Davao.
Considering that the UFL was for the most part an exclusively metro Manila-based tournament (even if teams were officially ‘based’ elsewhere) this is truly a positive move.
The problem is that scant details are in place less than two months out from the mooted start of the ‘revolutionary’ league and despite excitement at the promise of the PFL if things get off to a rocky start then sponsors and broadcasters may not stay interested for too long.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: Uncertain but likely 8-10
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff and two AFC Cup group stage entrants
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (Philippine Air Force, Global, Loyola Sparks, Kaya, Stallion)
STANDARD: Yet to be determined but it will need to be a step up from the UFL to really have the impact that everybody in the Philippines hopes and that is to be grow the interest in the sport locally and to provide more home-grown talents for the national team.
Although the popularity of the sport is growing steadily, the Philippines remain (along with Australia) the only Southeast Asian nation where football is not the main game in town and poor crowds at the recent AFF Suzuki Cup that they co-hosted were a black eye for football administrators in the country.
Many of the local players are technically gifted and there have been a handful of decent foreigners who have helped to raise the level a notch but much needs to be done to send football into the mainstream orbit and the PFL is hopefully a step in the right direction.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There has been a good deal of interest in the PFL but that will need to be capitalised successfully given the UFL struggled for both mainstream media exposure and sponsors throughout its entire existence.
OVERALL GRADE: Nominal B- given the need to ensure the new league gets off to a flying start and it’s not yet clear that will be the case.
CAMBODIA
OVERVIEW: One of the oldest leagues in the region, the C-League has been running in one form or another since 1982 although it’s never really given off the impression of being a slickly run, truly professional, league likes those in other nations across Southeast Asia.
Match-fixing claims both proven and otherwise have dogged the league for decades but at least there continues to be a constant stream of technically sound players emerging from the league.
Much of that can be put down to the solid grassroots work being down by a handful of clubs, notably Phnom Penh Crown, but there is much to be done in terms of marketing and the overall tactical level of the competition to raise the C-League to the next tier of leagues in the region.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two AFC Cup playoff slots.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Phnom Penh Crown, Naga Corp, Boeung Ket, Svay Rieng)
STANDARD: Power has long been concentrated in a small handful of clubs and as is the case in Myanmar that has often led to lopsided contests and only a couple of clubs remaining in the title hunt as the league hits the home straight.
The competition is in dire need of more experienced tactical nous from outside the country to help guide and hone the impressive stock of raw playing talent that emerges from the provinces right across the country.
The move of star forward Chan Vathanaka to Japan has the potential to do wonders for the next wave of young stars coming through the league and they will see – for the first time – that there is now a genuine pathway to bigger leagues abroad.
CROWDS/MARKETING: There has long been issues with covering the league and certain ‘favours’ are often needed to be done to ensure so and crowds are also fairly modest compared to those in other nations across the region.
OVERALL GRADE: C
INDONESIA
OVERVIEW: After years of starts, re-starts, bans and turnover football in Indonesia has made that nation’s political scene seem relatively straightforward.
2017 brings yet another new dawn with the launch of the newly named Liga Satu (League One) that aims to bring all the warring groups together and herald the start of a new era of organisation and prosperity for a nation who was last year welcomed back into the international arena after a previous FIFA ban.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 18
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None (although they are aiming to submit an entry for the 2018 season onwards)
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (Persipura Jayapura, Arema, Sriwijaya, Bandung, Semen Padang)
STANDARD: With all the changes over the past decade the league has ebbed and flowed between being able to attract decent foreigners and keep their best talent to having poorly run clubs constantly turning over players and coaches and that has led to a wide range of quality on the pitch.
Technically the Indonesian players are some of the best in Asia and if this supposed new era can help harness that raw talent with some more commanding tactical control then the league can really grow.
For now though, in what’s something even close to resembling the first proper league for several seasons it’s still unknown just what the quality will be like, although there have been some encouraging signs in the ongoing President’s Cup tournament.
CROWDS/MARKETING: This is another great unknown although given just how passionate Indonesian fans are for the game – and especially for the local product – we can expect large crowds to flock to the various venues around the country and the local media always does a good job in supporting the sport.
OVERALL GRADE: B- (This is as much a predictive grade given the huge number of variables around the latest incarnation of the league but with a few seasons of stability this could easily improve)
www.foxsportsasia.com/footba...ing-southeast-asias-domestic-football-part-2/
Ranking Southeast Asian domestic football leagues: Part 3
MALAYSIA
OVERVIEW: Without question one of the most fervently passionate footballing nations in the region yet one whose league has lurched from huge crowds and some attractive styles of play to the folding of former champions and one scandal after another.
That’s often achieved even in the space of barely the lone season.
The emergence of JDT as a truly professional, forward-looking club has prompted others into action and with next year the deadline for clubs to have meet wide-ranging, league-imposed, benchmarks over how they run their organisations the future is a promising one for football in the nation.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 12
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff spot and two group stages entrants for the AFC Cup.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Five (JDT, Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan, Lions XI)
STANDARD: Varies widely with a handful of teams at the top tending to monopolise the best talent and by extension play the best football. Across the board though there is a worrying level of tactical innovation outside of a handful of coaches and the influence of agents and others in taking their cut of transfers means that player turnover is at times totally out of control.
That, in turn, leads to instability and inconsistency on the pitch whilst the raw technical level of the local players is also not at the same level of many of the other nations in the region.
CROWDS/MARKETING: One of the main problems faced by the league is the pervasive influence of the long-running Malaysia Cup as well as other enforced breaks throughout the season that tends to see the league play second fiddle at times.
The fact the whole season is woefully short at just 22 matches also means that it’s seemingly over before it’s begun and there needs to be a far greater emphasis placed on this as the rock for Malaysian football to construct a brighter future upon.
OVERALL GRADE: B
VIETNAM
OVERVIEW: Rapidly emerging as one of the most entertaining, technically outstanding leagues in the region with some passionate, knowledgeable support and a highly competitive league competition.
After mismanagement and match-fixing issues dogged the league for many years things seem to be getting cleaned up recently and the focus is back on the football, even if there are the occasional ‘bizarre’ events such as those which we saw at the start of last year when Hanoi FC promptly upped and moved to Ho Chi Minh City a couple of weeks into the season.
The V.League and VFF do an excellent job of trying to promote their league to an international audience and the standard of players being produced by some well-run academies is helping to raise the level on the pitch.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 14
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: One ACL playoff and two AFC group stage slots.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Four (Hanoi T&T, Binh Duong, Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An,)
STANDARD: With the academy setups at Hanoi T&T, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and elsewhere pouring impressive resources into developing young talent the league is suddenly flush with a crop of newly found, ‘modern’ footballers who are technically superb, comfortable on the ball and tactical able to read the flow of a match and the league is benefiting from this across the board.
The fact that those young stars have often been sent abroad for a season or two to hone their skills can only further increase the overall level of competition upon their return and whilst it would be good to see more foreign coaches in the V.League to further expand the tactical framework there’s no question that technically Vietnam is in the very top tier of Southeast Asian nations.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is active on various social media platforms and coverage of the game – both digital and print-wise – is extensive and often passionately presented.
There seems to be a real push to try and grow the game and cast of the dark shadows of the recent past and Vietnam is doing a lot of things in this regard very well.
OVERALL GRADE: B+
AUSTRALIA
OVERVIEW: The standard of television production is very good and the crowds are – easily – the best in the region, at least until Indonesia gets its act together.
The fact that there still remains only ten clubs in the competition remains a real issue though, as does the fact that there is no promotion or relegation which can lead to a stale element creeping into things as the season wears on.
Australia is also the only nation in the region to have a playoff series which brings with its positives and negatives and while technically the standard is not of the same level as several other Southeast Asian leagues the overall ‘package,’ especially around the marketing of the sport means that it should be seen as one of the better leagues in the region, despite the A-League being barely a decade old.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 10
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: Two direct and one ACL playoff spot.
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: Six (Melbourne Victory, Newcastle, Sydney FC, Brisbane, Central Coast, Adelaide)
STANDARD: Australia remains the only Southeast Asian nation to have won the Asian Champions League following Western Sydney’s success in 2014.
Other clubs have done well in Asia and that speaks volumes to the standard of talent that features in the league as the competition is also able to attract a better calibre of import than any other league across the region.
Technically, things can be a little ordinary at times but matches are generally played with a high intensity and the physical level is easily the best in Southeast Asia.
CROWDS/MARKETING: The league is generally fairly well marketed and the crowds are very strong across the board but especially in the larger cities of Melbourne and Sydney.
With the league adopting a salary cap it has lead to a very level playing field as the fact that there have been six different champions in the past decade points to and that helps to maintain interest from fans of most clubs, most seasons.
The finals series – where six of the ten clubs reach the post-season – whilst clearly far too high also aids with maintaining interest and crowds right until the final stages of the season.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
TIMOR LESTE
OVERVIEW: Along with Laos, Timor remains the nation with the poorest professional league standards across Southeast Asia.
After years of poorly-run, shoddy leagues that were virtually that in name only an attempt was made to get things back on track last year with the launch of the Liga Amadora.
After starting with a blaze of publicity following some high-profile Indonesian signings, many of those players quietly departed and the league passed by without a huge deal of interest either home or abroad.
There are though a handful of passionate and dedicated individuals working behind the scenes to try and professionalize the league and hope is high that things may start to improve shortly.
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 8
ACL/AFC CUP SLOTS: None
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE: The league has not been run in any consistent, viable format for much of the past decade although SLB Laulara were crowned the inaugural Liga Amadora champions in 2016.
STANDARD: The local Timorese players are technically gifted and physically strong which means many of the raw ingredients are there for the league to be a success if things can continue to grow and develop.
[IMG]
The addition of some more experienced players from Indonesia is also helping to raise the standard but for now there is little to no foreign expertise being brought in to help raise the tactical standard and it could be a while until the Timorese reach the standard of other Southeast Asian nations although it bares worth repeating that there are some very impressive individuals working to try and accomplish this.
CROWDS/MARKETING: Presently there is very little visibility or interest in the league although with the groups working feverishly to promote and develop the sport the hope is that this will quickly improve.
OVERALL GRADE: D
www.foxsportsasia.com/footba...heast-asian-domestic-football-leagues-part-3/