AFC concerned about Man United's Asian tour

• zocoss

  6 May 07, 20:44

  Manchester United's proposed tour of Asia in July is likely to have a negative influence on the Asian Cup, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam said on Sunday. Speaking before a meeting of the Asian Cup organising committee, Hammam said United's tour so close to the July 7-29 tournament was casting a shadow over it.
  
  "(The) organisation of different competitions in and around the AFC Asian Cup is affecting the mood of the competition. The visit of Manchester United is of particular concern to us," Hammam said. "The Manchester United tour dates clash with the AFC Asian Cup and AFC doesn't want any competitions to be promoted or organised during the month of July.
  
  "If the tour goes ahead then it will be a breach of the OAA (Organising Association Agreement)." United are scheduled to play in Malaysia on July 27, just two days before the Asian Cup final in Jakarta. They are also due to make stops in China, Japan and South Korea.
  
  The AFC and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) signed an OAA in November, under the terms of which the Malaysians were supposed to ensure the Asian Cup would not be battling for publicity with other football events.
  
  The Asian Cup is being co-hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. FAM president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said last month that Malaysia's Asian Cup responsibilities ended on July 25, when they host one of the semi-finals. United's match is two days later and so there is no conflict. "There won't be a clash and furthermore, the Manchester United tour is part of Visit Malaysia Year and Malaysia's 50th year of independence," Shah told local media.
  
• sand king

  6 May 07, 22:43

  Yay!!! I hope they come to Sg and on my birthday
• jianfish9

  6 May 07, 23:06

  AFC ought to look at their own quality and try to figure out why instead of complaining.
• gigabyte14

  6 May 07, 23:08

  i wanna see rooney, giggs and ronaldo!
• 4getmenot

  6 May 07, 23:28

  seriously, what has AFC done in the last decade to raise the profile of Asian Football?
  
  Heck ironically its hard to watch the AFC live even in parts of ASIA!!!
• sand king

  7 May 07, 01:07

  Originally posted by gigabyte14:

  i wanna see rooney, giggs and ronaldo!

  This calls for an... OUTING
• thoreldan

  7 May 07, 01:14

  damn!
  
  i got reservist in jul
• Spica

  7 May 07, 11:35

  They are not dropping by SG right?
  Which part of Msia?
• iceFatboy

  7 May 07, 13:13

  well, Chelsea is also coming..