Scheduling debacle is an own goal for unilateral AFF

Deadly Thai striker Teerasil Dangda will not be adding to his record Asean Championship tally of 25 goals when the tournament kicks off on Dec 8.

- David Lee

He will not feature this time, and neither will teammate and twinkle-toed playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin.

Most of the stars who were part of the Indonesia team who upset Saudi Arabia 2-0 during their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign - goalkeeper Maarten Paes, defenders Sandy Walsh, Rizky Ridho, Jay Idzes, Calvin Verdonk, midfielder Thom Haye, and forward Ragnar Oratmangoen - will also be missing.

Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore will also not be at full strength.

Thai clubs BG Pathum United and Muangthong United will not be releasing their players for the biennial tournament, which rules out Singapore's top attackers Ikhsan and Ilhan Fandi, as well as Filipino defensive duo Scott Woods and John-Patrick Strauss.

The reason behind the absence of stars? The competition, also known as the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup, is not played during a Fifa international window, and hence clubs are not obliged to release their players for the various national teams.

This could have been avoided if the Asean Football Federation (AFF), which organises the tournament, had listened to its members and planned the dates better.