The inaugural Melbourne Asian Community Cup has reached a critical stage as a number of teams battle for survival in the final qualifying round at the Darebin International Sports Centre this Sunday January 19, 2014.
Fifteen teams representing Asian Football Confederation countries and a guest African team contested two rounds of qualifiers in December aiming to make the final and win the right to play at AAMI Park in a curtain raiser before the Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners game on Friday March 7.
Ken Lam, President of the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association MCSA President said “The Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association is thrilled with the turnout of passionate fans and spirit of the competition in the first two qualifying rounds. There is still a lot of spots up for grabs this weekend and we encourage everyone to come and support their team.”
Early tournament favourites Japan, Iran and Australia have already qualified for the quarter finals with surprise package Indonesia also qualifying courtesy of 2 wins.
China, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Vietnam, Iraq & Zambia all remain in the hunt for the 8 quarter final positions.
Indonesia’s Arnold Konjol leads the Golden Boot ladder with 5 goals, closely followed by Vito Tsang from Hong Kong and Afghanistan’s Denis Karac, each with 4 goals.
The event is organised by the Melbourne Chinese Soccer Association with support from Melbourne Victory, Football Federation Victoria and the AFC Asian Cup 2015.
The teams competing are Afghanistan, Australia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Zambia.
Mitchell Murphy, CEO of Football Federation Victoria said “FFV is honoured to be working alongside the AFC Asian Cup 2015 team, Melbourne Victory and the Melbourne Chinese Association in what has been a brilliant display of the most talented Asian footballers at Darebin.
“FFV is looking forward to strengthening the relationship with Victoria’s Asian communities and continuously promoting, celebrating and engaging Victoria’s diversity in the lead-up to next year’s AFC Asian Cup being hosted in our own backyard.
“We wish the 10 teams left standing all the very best as they play to become the Melbourne Asian Community Cup champions.”
Melbourne Victory CEO Ian Robson said the tournament was a fantastic opportunity to showcase Melbourne’s multicultural footballing talent.
He encouraged all Victory and football fans to attend the remaining rounds.
“This first two rounds of games has seen some fantastic football from players from diverse backgrounds played in a great spirit,” Mr Robson said.
Mr Robson said the tournament provided a fantastic opportunity to engage with the Asian communities ahead of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and develop long term partnerships through football.
Mitchell Murphy, CEO of Football Federation Victoria said “FFV is honoured to be working alongside the AFC Asian Cup 2015 team, Melbourne Victory and the Melbourne Chinese Association in what has been a brilliant display of the most talented Asian footballers at Darebin.
“FFV is looking forward to strengthening the relationship with Victoria’s Asian communities and continuously promoting, celebrating and engaging Victoria’s diversity in the lead-up to next year’s AFC Asian Cup being hosted in our own backyard.
“We wish the 10 teams left standing all the very best as they play to become the Melbourne Asian Community Cup champions.”
Group Summaries as follows:
Group A: Group A: Iran, India, Hong Kong, Afghanistan
Qualifier 1 (Dec 1): Iran 3 d India 1, Hong Kong 5 d Afghanistan 3
Qualifier 2 (Dec 8): Afghanistan 5 d India 0, Iran 5, Hong Kong 2
Final Qualifiers (Jan 19): 10am India v Hong Kong, 2pm Iran v Afghanistan
Scenario: Iran has already qualified through 2 wins. Hong Kong and Afghanistan must win to guarantee qualification.
Group B: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Lebanon
Qualifier 1 (Dec 1): Indonesia 7 d Thailand 0, Lebanon 3 d Vietnam 2
Qualifier 2 (Dec 8): Indonesia 4 d Vietnam 3, Lebanon 1 draw Thailand 1
Final Qualifiers (Jan 19): 10am Thailand v Vietnam, 2pm Indonesia v Lebanon
Scenario: Indonesia have already qualified for the Quarter Finals. Both Lebanon and Vietnam must win to guarantee qualification.
Group C: Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Australia
Qualifier 1 (Dec 1): Japan 6 d South Korea 2, Australia 2 d Nepal 0
Qualifier 2 (Dec 8): Japan 3 d Nepal 0, Australia 5 d South Korea 3
Final Qualifiers (Jan 19): 10am Japan v Australia, 12pm Nepal v South Korea
Scenario: Both Japan and Australia have already qualified for the quarter finals and their showdown shapes as the match of the day. Nepal and South Korea battle it out for 3rd place.
Group D: China, East Timor, Zambia, Iraq
Qualifier 1 (Dec 1): China 1 d East Timor 0, Zambia 3 d Iraq 2
Qualifier 2 (Dec 8): China 2 draw Zambia 2, Iraq 5 d East Timor 1
Final Qualifiers (Jan 19): 12pm China v Iraq, 12pm East Timor v Zambia
Scenario: An open group. The winner of China v Iraq will qualify as will Zambia if it defeats East Timor.
Remaining Fixtures:
Final Qualifiers: Sunday January 19, 2014
Quarter Finals: Sunday January 25, 2014
Semi Finals: Sunday February 23, 2014
Final: Friday March 7, 2014 ( Curtain Raiser for Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park)
Patrick Skene
Sport and Media Lead