Timor Leste, who made history last month by qualifying for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, will not play their group stage home matches at Dili Municipal Stadium as the venue is not yet match ready, organisers announced today.
Their opening game against Thailand on 9 November will instead be played in Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, while their match against the Philippines will be staged in Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras, Malaysia on 17 November.
Following a site visit by Dato’ Sri Azzuddin Ahmad (Retired), General Secretary of the ASEAN Football Federation, on 25 September, it was determined that the National Stadium in Dili had incomplete floodlighting.
Timor-Leste reached the Group Stages of the AFF Suzuki Cup for the very first time via the playoffs in September. They defeated Brunei Darussalam 3-2 on aggregate to complete the line-up for what is the 12th AFF Suzuki Cup.
They joined Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore in Group B.
The tournament is contested by 10 nations in two groups, in an exciting new home-and-away format to be played from 8 November to 15 December.
In Group A, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos will go head-to-head.
Thailand are the defending champions and have claimed the title a record five times.
