The Macau futsal team will start its campaign this week in Group C of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qualifiers. The team is aiming for a place in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, which will take place in Indonesia next year.
Once again, the five-a-side team from Macau is joining the Qualifiers, which comprise eight groups that will each be played in a centralized league format.
The local team was previously drawn into Group C, which will face Tajikistan, Japan, and Cambodia.
The Qualifiers will take place between September 20 (Saturday) and September 24 (Wednesday), with three matches in five days. All the matches will take place in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe.
In the first match, the Macau team will face the hosts at 11 p.m. (Macau time), playing next on Monday (September 22) against Japan at 8 p.m. (Macau time).
In the final match of the Qualifiers, Macau will face Cambodia at 8 p.m. (Macau time).
Japan is the top seed in Macau’s Group C due to its four-time success in the competition. Host Tajikistan is regarded as one of the favorites to advance to the finals, with Macau and Cambodia being the challengers of the group.
The Qualifiers will include 31 teams in total, divided into eight groups. Seven groups have four teams, and one group (H) will have only three teams.
The eight group winners and the seven best-ranked runners-up from the Qualifiers will join hosts Indonesia at the 18th edition of the Finals, scheduled from January 27 to February 7. Iran is the reigning champion of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
Ho Man Fai to play for HK Premier League reigning champions
Macau team goalkeeper Ho Man Fai has been announced to have joined the Hong Kong Premier League champions 2024-25 Tai Po Football Club (Tai Po FC).
In a statement on the club’s official social media platforms, the club welcomed Ho, who will wear jersey number 93.
On the news, Ho was quoted saying, “I think this is an extremely rare opportunity. I sincerely thank the coach who has guided me in the past,” adding, “I am well aware that being a Macau player in the HK Premier League is a very challenging thing.”
Adding to the challenges for the 32-year-old local player who joins the HK league’s reigning champions is the fact that he is considered a foreign player. Although there are no limits on the registration of foreign players in HK, the rules state that each team can only list a maximum of seven foreigners per match squad and can only have six of them on the pitch.
This is particularly an issue with Tai Po FC since the team has a large roster of foreigners, including 11 Brazilian players and one Australian.
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