The 2020 ASEAN Club Championship has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has said.

Hanoi FC players during a 2020 V.League 1 match. The team has lost the chance to compete at the ASEAN Club Championship after the tournament was cancelled. Photo of VPF. (Photo: VNA)

The tournament, run by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), was scheduled to take place for the first time in Thailand from May to November.

The tournament was to feature 12 teams, with two each from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam and one each from Myanmar and Singapore.

Clubs from Brunei, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste would have taken part in play-off matches to vie for the two remaining berths.

The winner was set to walk away with 500,000 USD.

Viet Nam’s representatives at the events were to be V.League 1 champions Hanoi FC and their runners-up Ho Chi Minh City FC.

However, due to the spread of the deadly virus, the organisers decided to delay it to next year.

The VFF reported that the AFF sent a letter to members about the cancellation of the tournament as the pandemic is ongoing and has not been controlled well yet.

Source: VNA