FFA fast-track bid to snatch a piece of Suzuki Cup action

Football Federation Australia are ramping up plans to grab a slice of the money-spinning Sukuzi Cup pie, as the prospect of sellout home and away Socceroos crowds against the cream of south-east Asia seduces officials.

Socceroos players react to a penalty shootout win Source: Getty Images

With the race on to join the regional extravaganza in time for its next edition in 2020, the penny has dropped at HQ over the how deeply Australia could benefit from joining the ASEAN Football Federation’s biennial feast - both on and off the field.

December’s final between Vietnam and Malaysia - two of the region’s fastest developing nations - attracted in excess of 128,000 fans over two legs, with FFA acutely aware of the potential for Australia-based supporters of south east Asian extraction to flock to matches.

FFA’s head of international relations Mark Falvo has been tasked with expanding Australia’s involvement in the AFF, which the FFA joined five years back on the proviso it wouldn’t participate in the Suzuki Cup because of its perceived quality.

But a super-charged rise in the region’s technical ability has changed all that, with Vietnam making the last eight at the AFC Asian Cup to bow out at the same stage as Australia.

“We had the pleasure of viewing the (second leg) of the final in Hanoi a month or two back and whilst we knew already it was an amazing tournament it struck home just how big it is,” Falvo told The World Game.

“The tweaks to the format which have occurred (knockout home and away games over two legs) have taken it to another level.

“The quality of football around the region has also ratcheted up in recent years.

“Having been members of ASEAN for a while now there’s also the desire for our side to become more embedded in contributing to the development of the game across the region.

“Participating in the Suzuki cup would be great. I think it’s something that requires exploration and needs to be studied and analysed.”

The competition takes place outside FIFA windows, and would offer the opportunity for fringe players to be blooded.

It’s impact on the A-league would also need to be assessed.

“The fact it’s outside FIFA dates has implications on the availability of players,” added Falvo.

“I think that's something that affected Thailand last year with a number of their players based in the J.League.

“So we need to be mindful of that and not disrupting the A-League season.”

But Falvo can only see ultimate upside, adding: “The number of people with south-east Asian heritage living in Australia is huge and would mean that any one of these matches I think would have great interest from a fan point of you.

“It might feel like a home match for a number of the ASEAN nations.

“It also opens up another commercial market for the AFF to benefit from.” Not the mention FFA itself.

With its knock-out format the tournament would give the Socceroos extra cut-throat competition on the calendar, and coach Graham Arnold the added opportunity to identify emerging talent, including players based in Asia and some of his Young Socceroos and Olyroos.

“The development of football in south-east Asia has been rapid in recent years and I don’t think there would be any concern of lop-sided results,” said Falvo.

“I think the games would be really close run.

“The performances of ASEAN teams at the Asian Cup this year really highlighted that.

“There’s a fine margin between teams from different corners of the AFC in terms of performance.

“Australian players playing in that sort of atmosphere against quality teams can only benefit in terms of their development.

“It’s all about different playing styles and building new rivalries.

“We’ve been participating in youth tournaments at different levels within ASEAN already.

“There have been other development programs and the natural next step to being active participants in the region is to participate in the showpiece event.

“It still has to work for all parties and be a collaborative process and that is something we will happily step through.

“If we are there in 2020 that would be a great outcome.”