Summary
The tournament would originally have been hosted by Myammar because of the rotation system among ASEAN countries, however, they withdrew in August 2007 due to security concerns. In the third AFF council meeting in Bali, Indonesia and Thailand beat three other countries to win the right to host (the other three were Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam). However, if both countries are unable to fulfill certain obligations set by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), Vietnam will step in and host the tournament. The winning team will take home USD100,000, runners-up USD 50,000, and USD 15,000 for the losing semi-finalists. Nike will be an official supplier for the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup.
10 days before the start of the tournament, safety issues were raised contending the safety of the teams who were due to play in Bangkok. This was because of the riots that were happening in the city which also resulted in the closure of the Suvarnabhumi Airport (see 2008 Thai political crisis for further information). Due to the political crisis, the Football Association of Thailand stated that the Group Stages in the Thai capital Bangkok would go ahead, or if the situation got worse, games would be moved to Chiang Mai in the north of the country or Phuket in the South of the country.
As well as Thailand confirming themselves as steady hosts, Vietnam and Malaysia also stated that they would be prepared to host the tournament at short notice.
On November 29, with less than one week before the start of the tournament, the Group Stages held in Thai sport were moved from the capital Bangkok to the southern province Phuket.
Read more about this topic: 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup
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