SINGAPORE – Ahead of its targeted September kick-off, the proposed Asean Super League (ASL) may face further delays after fresh doubts emerged whether the competition will take place this year.

This comes after former president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Zainudin Nordin, a key member of the ASL taskforce, told TODAY that the competition is still a “work in progress” and there is “no commitment” for it to begin within the next 12 months.

This is in contrast to Zainudin’s confident declaration during a FAS press conference in 2015, that the competition was on track to begin this year.

He had remarked then: “(World football governing body) Fifa is currently finalising the regulations of the competition, and we are confident the ASL will begin in 2017.”

Zainudin was speaking to TODAY at the Grand Hyatt hotel on Wednesday (Jan 25) after an Asean Football Federation (AFF) Special Council Meeting that was attended by members of the AFF Council. The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) was representated by its general secretary Winston Lee.

In addition, representatives from Malaysian online investment firm Catcha Group and regional sports marketing agency Total Sports Asia (TSA), led by TSA group CEO Marcus Luer, were also present for the meeting.

Both the TSA and Catcha Group have been named as core investors of CT Sports, which has combined with the AFF to form a joint venture called ASL Pte Ltd.

TIGHT-LIPPED

It is understood that the ASL taskforce took the opportunity to present to the AFF council members with updates about the proposed regional competition during the meeting, which began at 10am and ended at around 4.30pm.

When pressed on what was discussed with the AFF council, Zainudin said it is “AFF’s policy not to comment on the things said at their meetings”.

When approached by TODAY, Luer declined to comment on the discussions.

The hush-hush nature of the meeting was accentuated by a late change in venue for the session, which until last week was scheduled to be held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel. The AFF Council members were holed up in the meeting room throughout the six-and-a-half-hour session, with members exiting the room only for short bathroom breaks.

Zainudin had previously claimed that the ASL, the idea of which was first conceived in 2005, had the full backing of the members of the AFF.

The ASL taskforce had also met with various stakeholders, including clubs in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, over the past four months to present its plans.

TODAY understands the ASL will be made up of 10 teams from some of the AFF member nations, which consists of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Singapore. However, it is believed Australia and Timor Leste will not be represented in the competition.

The ASL competition format is expected to be similar in nature to the Indian Super League (ISL), with privately-owned franchises competing in a closed league model, with the champion being determined via end of season play-offs.

TEAM COMPOSITION

While it was initially mooted that Singapore’s representative in the ASL would be similar to the now-defunct LionsXII, which was set up by the FAS in 2011 to take part in Malaysia’s domestic competitions and mainly consisted of national players, TODAY understands that this will no longer be the case.

It is believed ASL teams will be allowed to hire players from all over South-east Asia, giving each team a distinct regional flavour.

It is also understood that Zainudin is no longer spearheading the ASL taskforce, although he will continue to play a significant part in the project. He could be in line to become the competition’s first chief executive officer.

Zainudin has long stressed that the ASL would be beneficial for not just football in Singapore, but also South-east Asia as a whole.

Remarking about the potential impact of the ASL on the region, Zainudin had previously said: “There are many views and opinions about the ASL, and there will always be those who are for and against it.

“But this is a region of more than 600 million people and there is a lot of talent, and a lot of them aspire to go far.

“But sometimes the jump to the bigger leagues is too huge. So we need to be able to think about how we can provide and fill that vacuum, and I think the regional league is something which will be the game-changer.”

Since the idea of the ASL was first conceived in 2005, the work-in-progress has been plagued with various delays.

When plans were officially announced in 2013, a 2015 start date was mooted. That has since been deferred twice to 2016 and this September.

Among the issues it reportedly faces include the unwillingness of some countries to send their top teams for the competition because of fears that this might result in a drop in quality in their respective domestic leagues.

The high costs of sending a team to compete in the ASL — reportedly about S$7 million — have also made it hard for countries like Laos and Cambodia to commit, with sponsors yet to be convinced by the viability of the tournament.

In the past, the league had also been unable to secure a broadcast partner. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TEO TENG KIAT