ASEAN Super League
{{Short description|International association football competition}}
The ASEAN Super League was a proposed international association football competition between domestic club sides run by the ASEAN Football Federation. It was initially scheduled to commence in 2017.{{cite news|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-football-chief/2385392.html|title=Singapore football chief says ASEAN Super League 'stepping stone' for local stars to level up|author=Justin Ong|date=29 December 2015|accessdate=6 March 2016|archive-date=10 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010221524/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-football-chief/2385392.html|url-status=dead}} In January 2017 it was announced there could be a delay to 2018 or later though.{{cite web | url=http://www.espnfc.com/blog/football-asia/153/post/3046422/asean-super-league-faces-more-delays-after-aff-meeting-in-singapore | title=ASEAN Super League faces more delays after AFF meeting in Singapore | publisher=espnfc.com | date=25 January 2017 | accessdate=3 February 2017}} In June 2017 it was announced that the competition would not take place at all.{{cite news|url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/football/asean-super-league-dead-water|title=Asean Super League dead in the water|author=TNP|date=24 June 2017|accessdate=24 June 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/news/proposed-asean-super-league-dead-and-buried-afc|title=Proposed ASEAN Super League dead and buried: AFC|author=FourFourTwo|date=24 June 2017|accessdate=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006133955/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/news/proposed-asean-super-league-dead-and-buried-afc|archive-date=6 October 2018|url-status=dead}}
Reception
Tampines Rovers' 2016 signing Jermaine Pennant said: I don't think it's going to be beneficial at all for Singapore football if the best players and the best teams are shipped off to a different league, I don't think the fans will appreciate it. His sentiments were shared by team-mate Afiq Yunos.{{cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/pennant-sending-best-players-to-asl-wont-benefit-local-football|title=Pennant: Sending best players to Asean Super League won't benefit local football|date=20 January 2016|author=Chua Siang Yee|newspaper=The Straits Times}}
Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor and chairman of Malaysian Super League club Johor Darul Takzim, said: "I don't agree with the ASL. I think we're [South-east Asian football] still young and we [should] focus on how it is done in Europe. For now, the Asian Champions League is the highest target. The ASL is not really my cup of tea."{{cite news|url=https://www.asiaone.com/johor-crown-prince-cool-idea-asean-super-league|title=Johor Crown Prince cool to idea of Asean Super League|date=10 April 2016|newspaper=Asia One|access-date=24 May 2016|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411032047/http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/johor-crown-prince-cool-idea-asean-super-league|url-status=live}}
In April 2016, Buriram United's boss Newin Chidchob also said, "Quite simply, I don’t support the idea of an ASEAN Super League and I don’t think it works from either a competitive or organisational perspective. The business terms and the return on the investment are not good enough, I mean, they’re asking small clubs to pay US$5 million (S$6.7m), but how much can those clubs win in this proposed league?”{{cite news|url=http://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/news/buriram-boss-pours-cold-water-asl-concept|title=Buriram boss pours cold water on ASL concept|date=13 April 2016|work=FourFourTwo|author=Scott McIntyre|access-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002085137/http://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/news/buriram-boss-pours-cold-water-asl-concept|archive-date=2 October 2016|url-status=dead}}