The eagerly anticipated inaugural edition of the Shopee Cup is all set to get underway this month with four teams set to battle it out for the two remaining group stage berths.
Young Elephants FC of Laos will take on Cambodia’s Svay Rieng FC and Kasuka FC of Brunei DS will be up against Myanmar’s Shan United FC across two legs in the qualifying playoffs.
Ahead of the action kicking off on July 17, we shine the spotlight on the playoff teams as a new dawn in ASEAN club football is on the horizon.
Young Elephants FC
The powerhouse of Laotian football in recent times, Young Elephants FC have taken the domestic club football scene by storm in the past couple of seasons with their dominant performances.
Founded in 2015 by the Lao Football Federation (LFF) with a focus on giving a platform for the country's brightest prospects, the Xangnoy have gone on to develop talents such as current national team captain Bounphachan Bounkong and forward Kydavone Souvanny amongst others.
Under the tutelage of Singaporean head coach Satyasagara, Young Elephants have gone on a remarkable run in the Lao League 1 winning the 2022 and 2023 league titles by emerging as Invincibles in back-to-back campaigns after winning 25 out of 32 combined matches in a never-seen-before feat in Laos.
Svay Rieng FC
Based in the Svay Rieng province in the Southeast of Cambodia, Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC are a force to be reckoned with in Cambodian football after winning their first-ever domestic double in the 2023-24 season.
The club won its first Cambodian Premier League title back in 2013 before a successful period under Irish head coach Conor Nestor culminated in them lifting the league title again in 2019, followed by famously defeating Indonesia’s Bali United 2-1 in the AFC Cup for their first group stage win in an international competition.
Last season, Svay Rieng finished eight points ahead of Phnom Penh Crown in the league and continued the good run by beating the capital city side 2-1 in the final of the Hun Sen Cup to clinch their record fifth domestic cup title.
Kasuka FC
Established in 1993 in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital and the largest city in Brunei Darussalam, Kasuka FC achieved plenty of success in the local leagues during the late 1990s.
The reformation for the club started over the past decade when in 2015 they achieved promotion to the Brunei Super League for the first time before reaching their first major final in 2022 when they narrowly lost out to Singapore Premier League side DPMM FC in the Brunei FA Cup.
However, it was more of a step in the right direction rather than a setback as in the 2023 Brunei Super League season, Kasuka won all of their 15 league matches, scoring a mammoth 88 goals along the way to clinch their maiden domestic championship and a place in the Shopee Cup playoffs.
Shan United FC
Myanmar’s Shan United FC are a notable name in ASEAN club football having won a five Myanmar National League titles since 2017 as well as being regular participants in the AFC Cup.
Similar to the aforementioned Young Elephants, Shan United didn’t lose a single league match in the 2022 and 2023 seasons and recently added the MNL League Cup title to their trophy cabinet after defeating perennial rivals Yangon United in the final.
Shan United’s current head coach Myo Hlaing Win has plenty of pedigree, too. The 51-year-old is the Myanmar national team’s all-time top-scorer and the 1998 AFF Championship Golden Boot winner.
Photo: Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC
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