Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur City FC are all set to face the challenge of Filipino champions Kaya FC-Iloilo in their maiden ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ match on Thursday, August 22.
Stadium Bola Sepak Kuala Lumpur will be the venue for the match with the stadium also having hosted 2018 and 2022 AFF Championship group stage matches.
KL City FC are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and have had cup successes in recent times beating Johor Darul Ta’zim to lift the Malaysia Cup in 2021 followed by a runners-up finish in the AFC Cup a year later.
Currently under the tutelage of Croatian Miroslav Kuljanac, the capital city side is captained by club legend Paulo Josue, with Zhafri Yahya, Giancarlo Gallifuoco, Brendan Gan and Patrick Reichelt being their other notable players.
KL City have had a difficult season on and off the pitch so far, currently sitting in the 11th position in the Malaysia Super League standings and hoping that the Shopee Cup can be a fresh breath of air for the team.
Meanwhile, Kaya FC-Iloilo wrapped up their second successive Philippines Football League title last month winning 13 out of their 14 matches while scoring a stunning 82 goals along the way.
However, since then top-scorer Jarvey Gayoso has departed the club for Phnom Penh Crown with goalkeeper Patrick Deyto returning home to sign for the club while the likes of Shuto Komaki and Park Yi-young are set to be crucial components in the Shopee Cup.
Both sides have plenty of experience in continental competitions with KL City FC defeating Philippine Air Force 6-0 in the qualifying rounds of the Asian Club Championship in 1989 in their only competitive match against a club from the Philippines.
Kaya FC-Iloilo have contrasting memories of the last time they faced a Malaysian club when Kedah Darul Aman handed them a 4-1 defeat in Bali in the AFC Cup 2022.
Group B of the inaugural edition of the Shopee Cup also features Thailand’s Buriram United, Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nôi FC, Borneo FC Samarinda of Indonesia and Lion City Sailors FC of Singapore.
Kuala Lumpur City FC vs Kaya FC-Iloilo
Venue: Stadium Bola Sepak Kuala Lumpur
Kick-off: August 22, 9:00 PM (Local Time)
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