The cream of Melbourne’s Asian football talent will be on display as 16 teams do battle in the inaugural Melbourne Asian Cup to be held over four months at Darebin International Sports Centre commencing with an Opening Ceremony at 10am on Sunday December 1, 2013.
Teams representing Asian Football Confederation countries will contest to become the Melbourne Asian Cup Champions and win the right to play at AAMI Park in a curtain raiser before a Melbourne Victory game.
The event is organised by the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association with support from Melbourne Victory, Football Federation Victoria and the AFC Asian Cup 2015.
Michael Brown, CEO of the Local Organising Committee of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 said “Congratulations to the Melbourne Chinese Football Association for organising this wonderful event that will bring the Asian football communities together in advance of their national teams coming to Australia for the AFC Asian Cup 2015,”
“May the best team win!” added Mr Brown
The event objective is to celebrate the diversity of Melbourne’s Asian communities and build awareness of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 which will launch in Melbourne on January 9, 2015.
The teams competing are Afghanistan, Australia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Zambia.
Ken Lam, President of the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association MCSA President Ken Lam said “Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association is excited to work with event partners Melbourne Victory, Football Federation Victoria and the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in delivering this inaugural sporting event to our multicultural community,”
“This unprecedented tournament provides our local aspirants a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents and develop new friendships – harmoniously bringing the community together through this great game.” added Mr Lam.
The Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association was founded in 1995 with over 2,500 players having played in its tournaments including 750 active players.
While the preliminary matches will be played at Darebin International Sports Centre, the grand finalists will play-off at AAMI Park ahead of Melbourne Victory’s clash with Central Coast Mariners on March 7.
Melbourne Victory CEO Ian Robson said this event would give Victory fans a chance to soak up the Asian Cup excitement as well as see some great football on display.
“Melbourne Victory continue to engage with the diverse communities within Melbourne to provide positive experiences through football, and this is one of them. We are extremely excited about the partnership and look forward to growing this concept year-on-year. Mr Robson said
Les Bee, Head of Game Development at Football Federation Victoria said “We are delighted to support this event through our United Through Football Program that aims to strengthen communities around football.”
Groups:
Group A: Iran, India, Hong Kong, Afghanistan
Group B: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Lebanon
Group C: Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Australia
Group D: China, East Timor, Zambia, Iraq
Tournament schedule: