After three years of not being there, the Epidemic control has been lifted and Malaysia 2023 seems to be returning to its pre-Epidemic normality, with the gradual revival of big events such as concert tours and sporting events. After a year of watching, Blue Cannonball decided to restart his stadium tour, eager to experience the glamor of sports in person, and even dreaming of embarking on the FIBA World Cup or watching the games in Japan.
Photo/Website: Southeast Asia Mitsubishi Cup Tournament
Having had the satisfaction of traveling to watch the tournament, Blue Gun Maru has been planning to resume his spectator trips since 2020. The epidemic disrupted everything but opened up the opportunity to share articles on the sport, and three years of sharing his experiences at Sports Vision has led him to hope to leave his footprints on live spectating starting with the Mitsubishi Cup Southeast Asia, hosted by Malaysia, in 2023. In this article, he shares his experience of watching the tournament.
In 2022, Blue Cannonball followed the Malaysian local tournaments but was unable to be there due to the birth of his daughter and the unstable epidemic. Missing out on the AFC Champions League, Kuala Lumpur Perlis FC's progression to the AFC Cup final and local basketball and badminton tournaments. At the end of the year, the Southeast Asia Mitsubishi Cup schedule was announced and Malaysia will host two group matches with reasonable ticket prices, so Blue Cannonball decisively purchased tickets for the January 3, 2023 match between Malaysia and Singapore.
The Southeast Asia Mitsubishi Cup has been created since 1996 and is organized by the Southeast Asia Football Association (SEAFA) and held every two years. Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries attach great importance to it. It has been held fourteen times since its inception, with Thailand winning six times, Singapore four times and Vietnam twice. Malaysia had defeated Indonesia in 2010 to win the only championship.
Photo/Website: Malaysia won the Southeast Asia Cup 2010
Malaysian soccer had its glory days in the 70s and 80s, twice successfully advancing to the main soccer tournament of the Olympics. beating the United States in the group stage of the 1972 Munich Olympics became the only win for an Asian team at the Games. eight years later, Malaysia again advanced to the Moscow Olympics, boycotted by the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
FIFA introduced the world country rankings in 1993 and Malaysia had reached 79th (the best ranking) before dropping to 178th in 2018. In recent years, Malaysian soccer has been developing well, and the national team has risen to 146th in the rankings after successfully qualifying for the main round of the Asian Cup in 2022.
In November 2022, the Southeast Asian Football Association (SEAFA) conducted the grouping ceremony in Thailand, Group A: Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei, Philippines. Group B: Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos. The main round of the tournament started on the 20th, and after a fierce competition, Vietnam topped Group B with 2 wins and 1 draw, followed by Singapore, and Malaysia in third place with 2 wins and 1 loss.
