Vietnam twice refused to participate in the 2019 King's Cup of Thailand

The Vietnamese team will not participate in the King's Cup in June 2019, most likely because they have other plans. Photo:Mr. Khoa

"The 2019 King's Cup was originally scheduled to be held in March, coinciding with international friendlies. Before the 2018 AFF Cup, no Southeast Asian team had a match scheduled for March. But after winning the AFF Cup, Vietnam will compete for the inter-regional title with South Korea at the same time, so they cannot participate," said Phatthan Suphaphong, deputy head of the FAT's foreign affairs department.Siam Sport.

"After deciding to organize the King's Cup in June 2019, we invited Vietnam again. But they still refused. Most likely we will have to invite teams from Europe or other continents to replace Vietnam," Mr. Suphaphong added.

The King's Cup was first held in 1968, and is a competition for four national teams. It has been held annually, except in 1983, 1985, 2008, 2011 and 2014. The tournament has featured many famous players such as Peter Schmeichel, Ronaldinho, Henrik Larsson, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Brian Laudrup, Rivaldo and Robert Lewandowski.

Vietnam participated in the tournament once in 2006, along with host Thailand, Kazakhstan and Singapore. That year's tournament was a round robin tournament, with two teams advancing to the final. Vietnam won two and drew one in the group stage, and advanced to the final against the host. There, Phan Thanh Binh scored but Vietnam only finished second, losing 1-3 to Thailand.