Indonesia defeated Thailand in a penalty shootout to win the inaugural Fifa Asean Cup final in Jakarta, a tournament championed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino. The 2-2 draw after 120 minutes was followed by a 4-2 shootout success, delighting 70,000 fans in the Indonesian capital.
Infantino’s Asian tour
The tournament came at the end of a trip through Asian member associations by Infantino, who attended a ceremony in Macau to inaugurate new headquarters, signed an agreement in Mongolia to build a new national stadium and opened a Fifa Arena mini-pitch in Uzbekistan. The moves are seen as significant with Asia divided over the upcoming Fifa presidential election.
Some associations have expressed support for the incumbent, others have openly opposed him, some will decide upon seeing the other candidate, some will follow the lead of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) leadership and vote against Infantino, and others will just wait.
A new competition for the region
Infantino announced the new tournament at a regional Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur last October, with Fifa’s media office sending out hastily put together emails promising details would follow. The AFC was less than impressed at the world body coming into its back yard and announcing new tournaments.
The region has had a longstanding biennial competition, currently known as the Hyundai Asean Cup, since 1996, with Vietnam winning the 16th edition in August. Few thought there was any need for another competition.
Mixed reception and close calls
In Saturday’s final of the Asean Challenge Cup, the second-tier event held in Hong Kong, Infantino was greeted with chants of “Fifa Mafia”. Hong Kong beat Cambodia 2-0 in that final. The reception in Jakarta two days later was warmer.
Invitations were sent to China and India, a move seen as an attempt to capture some of 2.8 billion potential viewers, but both declined. India preferred to face Brazil, Panama and Uruguay in friendlies, while China lost 5-0 to Palestine at home. Broadcasters seemed unenthusiastic, and it took time for most of the region to sign up, with Thailand failing to do so and fans there watching the final on Fifa channels.
Dramatic path to the final
Indonesia only won their four-team group by the finest of margins. Going into the last match, the hosts had to beat Bangladesh by one goal more than Malaysia beat Singapore to reach the final. Malaysia won 6-0, and heading into added time Indonesia were 7-2 up against Bangladesh, with only two extra minutes signalled. Indonesia scored in the 96th and 97th minutes to win 9-2 and squeeze through.
Attendance figures were not released, and empty seats were the defining image of many games. The final, though, was memorable, with English coaches John Herdman triumphing over Anthony Hudson.
Whether Indonesia are champions of south-east Asia given Vietnam’s summer success probably depends on who you ask. For most outside Indonesia, it could all be forgotten quite quickly. Infantino may judge the real success on whether he has increased his chances of staying in his position. If so, we may see both Infantino and the Asean Cup in south-east Asia again. If not, the tournament is likely to go the same way as its creator.
