THE official draw for the Asean Football Federation Men’s Championship, now known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, will be on Aug. 30 in Bangkok, Thailand, the AFF announced yesterday from its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“The official draw will be conducted in Bangkok, Thailand with the representatives from the AFF council, member associations, sponsors and some of the participating teams expected to be in attendance,” an AFF statement said.
The draw will be attended by top AFF officials led by AFF president Maj. General Khiev Sameth of Cambodia. Among those who expected to be present for the draw is Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta Jr., an AFF council member.
The Philippines, which has reached the semifinals of the regional men’s football showcase four times, is among the nine teams that have qualified for the group stage while Timor Leste and Brunei will dispute the 10th and last spot in the qualifying round playoff matches.
After hosting the tournament in a bubble in Singapore two years ago, the tourney will revert to its usual home-and-away format in the group stage, with the top two teams from two groups advancing to the crossover semifinals.
The semis will also be a home-and-away series, with the total goals tallied from the two legs deciding the sides advancing to the championship stage, also a two-legged affair with aggregate goals deciding the winner.
