Malaysia and Singapore Are in the Same Group as Indonesia and India in FIFAs First ASEAN Cup
The tournament runs from 21 September to 6 October and sits inside a FIFA window, so squads are full strength.
The first FIFA-organised regional tournament for Southeast Asia runs from 21 September to 6 October. Indonesia hosts the Premier Division. A second division for six lower-ranked nations is being played in Hong Kong.
The Premier Division has eight teams in two groups of four, then knockouts.
Group A is India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Group B is Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan.
The detail that matters is the calendar slot. The competition falls inside an official FIFA international window, which means clubs have to release players and every nation can pick a full squad. That is the difference between this and the long-running AFF competition, which has always had to work around club release.
The AFF tournament, the ASEAN Hyundai Cup, finished last month. Vietnam beat Thailand 4-2 on aggregate across legs on 22 and 26 August for a fourth title and a second in a row.
Matchday fixtures and squad lists for the ASEAN Cup had not been published when this was written. For a tournament three weeks away that is late, though it is a first edition and the draw itself was only recently made.