VietNamNet Bridge – The draw for the qualifier round of the AFC Cup 2012 took place at the office of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Malaysia on December 6. Two Vietnamese football clubs – Song Lam Nghe An and Navibank Saigon – joined the event.
The AFC Cup 2012 will attract 32 FCs from Asian countries. They are divided into eight groups for qualifying rounds.

Vietnam’s Song Lam Nghe An is placed in group F with Tampines Rovers from Singapore, Terenggaru from Malaysia, and Kitchee from Hong Kong.

Another Vietnamese FC, Navibank Saigon, is in group H with AremaIndonesia from Indonesia, Ayeyawady from Myanmar and Kelantan from Malaysia.  

The draw is said good for Vietnam since Vietnamese teams will not have to face strong rivals from the Central Asia like Kuwait or Iraq.

The qualifier round will be held from March 3 to May 23, 2012. The first and second winners of each group will enter the second round which consists of 16 teams.

The knock-out and final rounds will take place from September to November.

Vietnam’s best record at AFC Cup is entering the semi-final round in 2009 (Binh Duong FC). At AFC Cup 2011, Song Lam Nghe An FC stopped at the 1/16 round.

Lam Son