Antony Sutton

There are just a couple of days to go till the AFF Cup kick off in Jakarta and, thankfully, no one has mentioned anything about an opening ceremony.

And quite rightly so.

This is a football tournament and we should focus on the players kicking a ball around, not get sidetracked by people walking round the pitch dressed in national costumes and waving a flag around.

Likewise, as far as I'm aware, fans aren't paying big money to go ‘ooh' and ‘aah' at some expensively designed fireworks display.

If I want to see people walking around in approved national dress I can watch the Discovery Channel. If it's fireworks I can watch the opening ceremony from the Beijing Olympics on You Tube.

I want neither. I want football.

This is the seventh edition of the ASEAN Football Federation Cup and there have only been two winners since the tournament's inception. Singapore and Thailand have both won the trophy three times with Singapore having won the last two editions and indeed being unbeaten since 2002.

The Lions will take to Jakarta a wealth of experience with the bulk of the squad having played in the last two successful tournaments. They are not without controversy however, with one third of their squad being ‘naturalized' Singaporeans, i.e. foreigners.

It's perfectly legal in the eyes of FIFA and it's a path open to other countries, especially Indonesia, if they choose to take it. But from what I can gather in Indonesia while a player can become an Indonesian citizen after five years here there would be a lot of resistance from the locally born players at seeing their places usurped by some ‘Johnny come lately'.

Southeast Asians are known for being goal shy on the international stage but in this tournament they at least have Cambodia and Laos joining in to guarantee a shot at boosting their goal difference.

In the last campaign, Laos lost 11-0 to Singapore, a game striker Noh Alam Shah remembers fondly for his seven goals that momentarily had the world's football media at his feet.

Likewise, Cambodia shipped 14 goals during Indonesia's Merdeka Cup last August.

As one of the co-hosts, Thailand have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. But while the group games may have been shifted from Bangkok to Phuket, you can't help but marvel at the Thais marketing savvy. It's almost as if they're saying ‘ok, Bangkok airport may be closed but there's more to Thailand than Bangkok. Look at our beaches...'

Football of course is about the players and there should be a few who come out of their games with reputations polished.

Myanmar may be cold-shouldered on the world stage but locally she's the belle of the ball as the national side keeps getting invited to regional competitions, most recently the Indonesian and Malaysian Merdeka Cups. One player who has stood out for them is striker Soe Myat Min.

As well as promoting the southern beaches Thailand will be looking for big things from young striker Teeratep Winothai. The 23-year-old is moving to Belgian side Lierse in the New Year and he will be keen to give Thai fans some fond memories.

Let's hope all the headlines revolve around the players and what happens on the pitch. Fans still remember the Thais walking off the pitch during the final in Singapore last time round and indeed Indonesia's coach Benny Dollo is not averse to calling his players off if he takes offence at something on the pitch.

Someone will win this cup for sure. But someone will also lose and it is to be hoped the losers accept their defeat gracefully and with dignity. Then we can look back on a wonderful tournament.