AFC has problem with big scores, looks to restructure competitions

AFC has problem with big scores, looks to restructure competitions
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

MANILA, FEBRUARY 17: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is to look into restructuring its competitions after a string of massive scorelines in the qualifying rounds for Asian Cup Lebanon 2000, the AFC has announced.

Recent results have included a 19-0 victory for China over the tiny island of Guam and a 20-0 victory for Kuwait over Bhutan. The latter are only associate members of the AFC and were competing in their first major tournament after decades of isolation from the rest of the world.

Japan displayed slightly more restraint after their World Cup star Masashi Nakayama scored a hat-trick in the first three minutes against Brunei.

In the end, the nation that until recently ranked among the world's top 20 sides only won 9-0 in a match that Brunei's English coach Mick Jones had described beforehand as a damage limitation exercise.

``We have such a huge variation in the standards of football across the continent that this is an ongoing problem,'' he said. ``It exists in the women's competitions where we have China, who are a world superpower, and other nations where the game is totally in its infancy.''

``The same applies in our youth competitions and at times, in the club competitions too. Don't forget that in the 1960s and 70s, Japan used to lose games by 10 goals.''

``The only way they have got where they are now, at the top of the Asian game, is by learning from those defeats. Guam, for instance, are very philosophical. They say they know they have to lose in order to learn.''

Maldives are an example of a nation that has benefited from an initially embarrassing defeat. Beaten by a record 17-0 against Iran in a World Cup '98 qualifying match played in Damascus, they return to the Syrian capital in March to face the Iranians again.

This time, their game is in a far healthier state. A defeat that gave them unwanted global notoriety has resulted in far greater government support, which includes the recent opening of a brand new stadium for the National team.

Not all nations are as lucky with support. Philippines, once a hotbed of football in the 1950s, struggle on in the face of popularity of basketball in the islands. They, like Guam, recently had to contend with the world's most populous nation and emerged with a far from disastrous 8-0 loss.

``We kept it quiet,'' laughs Chris Monfort, the general secretary of the Philippine Football Federation before taking on a more serious note. It really can be counter productive; we lose morale and we lose sponsorship. It becomes harder to get support from the government, they say why should we help you, you'll only lose?''

``The most frustrating thing for us is that when our players are beginning to reach their peak, at the age of 21, they finish university and stop playing because they have to get jobs. How can we compete against countries with professional leagues<\!q>?''

Singapore were in disarray in the mid-1990s as a corruption scandal devastated the game there. However, winning south east Asia's premier competition, the Tiger Cup last year, inspired their government to get behind the ambitious goal 2010 project aimed at World Cup qualification by the end of the decade.

The immediate fruits of their labour were seen in the opening matches of Group 10 of Asian Cup qualifying currently being played in Macau. There, they fought a brave rearguard action against the might of Japan, conceding a penalty and two goals from corners but significantly, none from open play.

``I didn't sleep well before the game,'' said the Singapore coach Vincent Subramaniam. ``I didn't want it to be an embarrassment. We adopted a very defensive strategy but atleast we got one part of our game right, our defence. We gave 100 per cent effort and we did not embarrass ourselves.''

``I am sure that the boys learned from the experience, in terms of how to mark talented players and how to retain the team shape when under such huge pressure. We've been beaten before and it is no disgrace to lose to a team like Japan.''