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The 2020 AFF Cup will begin on November 23 and conclude on the last day of the year, December 31, according to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

The aforementioned schedule is over half a month later compared to the previous tournament in 2018.

The 2020 AFF Cup takes place later than usual as the Southeast Asian teams will have to play a series of international matches (between November 15-19) as part of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.

In a move to enable regional teams to attain the best results at the continental competitions, the AFF has decided to push back the 2020 AFF Cup schedule.

According to the initial information presented, the format of the 2020 AFF Cup will remain unchanged, with 10 teams drawn into two groups of five. Each team will play two home and two away games against in the group stage.

The draw for the tournament is set to be held in the middle of next year.

Park Hang-seo’s Vietnam were crowned champions of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup after beating Tan Cheng Hoe’s Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate in the final. It was the second AFF Cup championship title for Vietnam, ten years after their maiden trophy in 2008. Nhan Dan