The excitement for the kickoff of the Selangor Asia Challenge 2020 is building up. The tournament which involves teams from the ASEAN region will see the hosts, Selangor joined by True Bangkok United, Persib Bandung and Vietnamese treble winners, Hanoi FC.

In the FAS Training Centre, all the senior players have returned from their breaks to begin preparation with the coaching staff to ensure that they are well prepared for this competition.

Speaking to the Red Giants media, the Selangor Head Coach, B. Satiananthan admits that he had more time to develop his strategies and evaluate his players’ abilities compared to the previous season, especially when his squad is strengthened by new signings.

“You have to remember that I joined Selangor in November 2018, a very short time before the start of last season. When my contract was extended for this season, I was able to begin preparations much earlier,” said the 61-year-old coach.

“We have planned well, the management was also very helpful in signing the players that I wanted besides keeping the players that I needed. It is now my responsibility to ensure that Selangor performs well for the league, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.”

Satiananthan also stressed that Selangor is a better team compared to last season due to a few different aspects such as a better training facility, a longer preparation time, as well as the presence of new players who brings with them positive vibes.

“We have strong characters in the team such as Brendan Gan, who always shows a good example to our young players, we also have Sandro who always gives his best in training, we have Taylor as the leader and we have Swirad who is very disciplined.”

When asked about Selangor Asia Challenge, B. Satiananthan said that it is not a walk in the park as the teams participating are strong teams.

“I know the invited teams are strong teams such as Persib Bandung, who just finished their league season. Playing with in-season teams is hard because they are playing at their pinnacle. They are well prepared and are playing in a competitive mode, so they are different from us.”

Satiananthan also said that he needs to strategize well for this tournament because he will not be able to use the same players in a short time frame of 48 hours with the start of the league at the end of February being the top priority.

“This is a preseason competition. If we win it, it is a bonus. The objective of a preseason tournament is to prepare the players to be in competitive mode, make sure the players are fit and this is what we will work towards. It's a two days tournament, thus it is impossible for me to field the best eleven that the team have for both games. However, I am sure that the players playing in this tournament will give their 100% commitment,” said Satiananthan.

Set to take place over two days, each team joining Selangor Asia Challenge will only play in two matches and the team with the best record from both matches will be crowned champions. To make things more interesting, each goal scored will contribute a point similar to the Emirates Cup in Europe.

As a reward, the champion will bring home USD10,000 cash and the runner-ups will bring home USD5,000. All tournaments will take place in Shah Alam Stadium starting from 5.00 pm until 11.00 pm.

Besides the football matches, Selangor Asia Challenge 2020 will also witness the ASEAN Cultural Festival where various cultural activities from participating countries will be held in the compound of Shah Alam Stadium.

This cultural festival will host the Selangor football history showcase, ASEAN food market as well as a gaming zone.

Two day passes to watch all 4 matches are now up for sale at faselangor.my priced at RM30.00 (adults) and RM5 (children) for open categories.

For Red Giants Team Card 2020 holders, they are eligible for special discounts and will be able to purchase the two-day entry pass at only RM15.00 only for the same category, while children Red Giants Team Card 2020 holders will be able to enter for free without purchasing any tickets.