By JONAS TERRADO
The country’s hosting of the AFF Women’s Championship has been postponed to a later date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASEAN Football Federation said on Wednesday.
The AFF included the Women’s Championship in the list of competitions on hold for the next four months as the Southeast Asian region continues to deal with the pandemic.
Also postponed is the participation of Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros in the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship which is now rescheduled for 2021.
Other events postponed are the AFF U-18 Women’s Championship, AFF U-16 Boys’ Championship and the AFF U-19 Boys’ Championship in Indonesia.
“These are unprecedented times for the whole world, including our football family and communities, but we will get through it together. However, getting through this will require all of us to play our part,” AFF President Khiev Sameth of Cambodia said in a statement.
The AFF, however, said that the prestigious Suzuki Cup, held every even-numbered years, set in November and the U-15 Girls’ Championship in September will be played as scheduled.
“The postponement of the AFF competitions follows the decisions made by FIFA and AFC to postpone their competitions such as the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers to be scheduled for March on June 2020 and AFC club competitions scheduled for March and April 2020 respectively,” the Philippine Football Federation said.
FIFA and AFC had earlier postponed the World Cup/Asian Cup because of the pandemic while the AFC Cup tournament participated by Ceres and Kaya-Iloilo were also suspended indefinitely.
The PFF earned the right to host the Women’s Championship, usually held on an annual basis, for the first time.
The Philippines placed fourth in last year’s event in Chonburi, Thailand. Vietnam won the tournament by beating host Thailand in the Final.
