For the sake of quality, Indonesian National Team Coach Shin Tae-yong suggests changing the format of the 2024 AFF Cup group stages

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-yong proposed changing the format of the 2024 AFF Cup group stage, now changing to the 2024 ASEAN Cup. The aim is to maintain the quality of play for each team.

“The ASEAN Cup for the group stage must be changed,” said Shin in a press conference before the match against Vietnam, Saturday (14/12/2024).

He believes that the current format is not ideal because it makes players miserable. As is known, this AFF Cup uses a system round robin with each team playing two home games and two away games in a short space of time.

Additionally, each team plays matches three days apart. The Indonesian national team, for example, is playing its third match against Vietnam on Sunday (15/12/2024). In fact, on Thursday (12/12/2024) the Indonesian national team played at home to host Laos in the second match of the 2024 AFF Cup.

The Indonesian national team has just had a long break when they play their final Group B match against the Philippines next week, Saturday (21/12/2024), or six days after the match against Vietnam. According to Indonesian National Team coach Shin Tae-yong, the format of the 2024 AFF Cup group stage should be played centrally again or with a home tournament system like the 2016 edition and back.

“Group stage matches must be played centrally in one country, then the semifinals and final will be played in the first and second legs,” he said.

He added, with this system, the quality of Southeast Asian level tournaments will increase. This quality refers to the players’ skills that will improve.

“From there, the professional quality of each match and the skills of the players will be improved. The current format makes travel difficult for the team,” concluded Indonesian National Team coach Shin Tae-yong ahead of the match against Vietnam in the 2024 AFF Cup.