PETALING JAYA: Terengganu are looking forward to participating in the Asean Club Championships for the first time with the hope that their players would come out richer from the experience.
The Turtles have been placed in Group A with Dong A Thanh Hoa (Vietnam), PSM Makassar (Indonesia), BG Pathum United (Thailand) and two playoff winners.
Terengganu midfielder Akram Mahinan wants his teammates to learn from the experience.
“It would be nice to play against these top sides in the region. I’ve had the experience of playing against Makassar when I was with Kuala Lumpur and we know how strong BG Pathum are in the Thai League,” said the 31-year-old.
“Vietnamese clubs always pose a strong challenge. Their league is solid and anyone coming out of it would give any side a challenge. They are pillar stones of their national team.
“The tournament will have its pros and cons. The con would be the fact that our playing schedule will be really tight as we also have to compete in several domestic tournaments. Not to forget the constant travelling.
“The pro will be the experience we are all going to get. Some of the boys in Terengganu already had the experience of playing in the AFC Cup last season and now they will have a taste of the best in South-East Asia.”
Group A
Winner of Playoff 1 (Young Elephants (Laos) or Svay Rieng (Cambodia))
Winner of Playoff 2 (Kasuka (Brunei Darussalam) or Shan United (Myanmar))
Dong A Thanh Hoa (Vietnam)
PSM Makassar (Indonesia)
Terengganu (Malaysia)
BG Pathum United (Thailand)
Group B
Kaya FC-Iloilo (The Philippines)
Lion City Sailors (Singapore)
Borneo Samarinda (Indonesia)
Cong An Hanoi (Vietnam)
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Buriram United (Thailand)
