NEW AFF CUP DATES TO AVOID CLASH

Still, clubs not obligated to release players outside Fifa window, while SPL needs break

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David Lee Sports Correspondent The Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship will see stronger representation from South-east Asian countries, after new dates for the biennial competition were announced on Aug 27.

The tournament proper will now be from Dec 8 to Jan 5, instead of Nov 23 to Dec 21, "to ensure optimum strength and performance of national teams at the tournament", the AFF said in a statement after considering "recommendations from several member associations".

The dates were moved after the earlier ones had clashed with the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) top-tier club competitions, which also involves the top players, sparking fear that the Asean tournament, also known as the Mitsubishi Electric Cup, would feature under-strength national teams.

The new schedule will see Singapore play their Group A matches against Cambodia on Dec 11 (home), Brunei or Timor-Leste on Dec 14 (away), Thailand on Dec 17 (home) and Malaysia on Dec 20 (away). The two-legged semi-finals are on Dec 26 and 29 or Dec 27 and 30. The two-legged finals are on Jan 2 and 5.