View source for Merlion Cup

{{for|the basketball tournament of the same name|Merlion Cup (basketball)}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Short description|Association football tournament in Singapore}}
{{Infobox football tournament
| current              = [[2024 Merlion Cup]]
| image                =
| founded              = 1982
| abolished            =
| number of teams      =
| current champions    = {{fbu|22|MAS|name=Malaysia U-22}}<br />(1st title)
| most successful team = {{fb|AUS}}<br />(2 titles)
| broadcasters         =
| website              =
}}
The '''Merlion Cup''' is an invitational [[association football|football]] tournament that was held in [[Singapore]] annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019 and 2023. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and club teams. After the 1986 tournament, four [[Canadian Soccer Association|Canadian]] players ([[Igor Vrablic]], [[Hector Marinaro (soccer, born 1964)|Hector Marinaro]], [[David Norman (soccer)|David Norman]] and [[Chris Chueden]]) were suspended after a match-fixing scandal.

== History ==
The inaugural Merlion Cup was held in 1982 and was held annually until 1986. The tournament was not held in 1987 due to financial constraints and the planned tournament would have scheduling conflict with the [[Malaysia Cup]]. The 1986 edition experienced the worst match attendance since the tournament's inaugural edition in 1982 with only 12,000 people showing up to watch the final between China and North Korea.<ref name=notthisyear1987>{{cite news|title=Merlion Cup not on this year|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g8VUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6839%2C1822494|access-date=13 January 2016|publisher=New Straits Times|date=9 June 1987}}</ref> Two more editions of the tournament were held-in 1992 and 2009.<ref name=return>{{cite news|last1=Tan|first1=Noah|title=Merlion Cup could return to S'pore in January|url=http://www.todayonline.com/sports/merlion-cup-could-return-spore-january?singlepage=true|access-date=13 January 2016|work=Today Online|publisher=Mediacorp Press Ltd.|date=20 October 2015}}</ref>

=== 2016 planned revival ===
At the 2013 [[Football Association of Singapore]] (FAS) annual general meeting, FAS president [[Zainudin Nordin]] expressed intention to revive the tournament. In early 2015, [[MP & Silva]] and FAS managed to secure a six-year partnership worth [[Singaporean dollar|S$]]25 million. MP & Silva planned to organise the tournament slated in January 2016 at the 55,000-seater [[National Stadium, Singapore|National Stadium]].<ref name=return/> However, in late 2015, after six months of negotiations, it was announced that negotiation to use the National Stadium as the venue of the Merlion Cup was stalled due to the Singapore Sports Hub demanding an upfront payment reportedly a six-digit figure to rent the stadium as the venue of two editions of the tournament in 2016 and 2017. This led the organisers to find an alternative venue and also considered holding the tournament in [[Malaysia]].<ref>{{cite news|author1=Low Lin Fhoong|title=Merlion Cup seeks new venue|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/merlion-cup-seeks-new/2328054.html|access-date=13 January 2016|work=TODAY|publisher=Channel News Asia|date=8 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=Low Lin Fhoong|title=Merlion Cup negotiations hit a wall|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/merlion-cup-negotiations/2256248.html|access-date=13 January 2016|work=TODAY|publisher=Channel News Asia|date=13 November 2015}}</ref>

On 25 December 2015, it was announced that the 2016 Merlion Cup is postponed indefinitely.<ref name=postponed>{{cite news|author1=Wang Meng Meng|title=No go for Merlion Cup, competition on hold indefinitely|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/no-go-for-merlion-cup|access-date=13 January 2016|publisher=The Straits Times|date=25 December 2015}}</ref> Among the teams invited to participate along with hosts [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]] were the national teams of [[Myanmar national football team|Myanmar]],<ref name=postponed/> and the [[Philippines national football team|Philippines]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leyba|first1=Olmin|title=Azkals gird for AFF, Asian, World Cup qualifying|url=http://www.philstar.com/sports/2016/01/11/1541355/azkals-gird-aff-asian-world-cup-qualifying|access-date=13 January 2016|publisher=The Philippine Star|date=11 January 2015|quote=The Azkals mentor (Thomas Dooley) said Phl XI was supposed to take part in a tournament (Merlion Cup) in Singapore end of this month but learned it had been cancelled.}}</ref> and club sides [[Shanghai Shenhua]]<ref name=postponed/> and [[Yokohama F. Marinos]].<ref name=postponed/>

=== 2019 return ===
On 18 May 2019, it was announced that the Merlion Cup would return, taking place from 7–9 June 2019. It would be an U22 tournament, featuring Singapore U22, Indonesia U22, Thailand U22 and Philippines U22. Singapore U22 would face Philippines U22 while Indonesia U22 would play Thailand U22 in the semi-finals.

=== 2023 return ===
After a three-year hiatus, Merlion Cup was announced to take place from 24–26 March 2023.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=cue |date=2023-03-02 |title=Football: Merlion Cup to return from March 24-26 as part of SEA Games preparation {{!}} The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-merlion-cup-to-return-from-march-24-26-as-part-of-sea-games-preparation |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=www.straitstimes.com |language=en}}</ref> The tournament would be a pure U22 with no overage players allowed as per previous editions.<ref name=":0" /> The tournament would feature the U22 teams from Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Malaysia.<ref name=":0" />

== Results ==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: ; width: "
|-
! rowspan="2"  style="width:;|Ed.
! rowspan="2"  style="width:50px;|Year
! colspan=3|Final
! colspan=3|Third place match or losing semi-finalists
|-
! Winners
! Score
! Runners-up
! Third place
! Score
! Fourth place
|-  
|1 || [[1982 Merlion Cup|1982]] || '''{{fb|AUS}}''' || {{center|3–2}}|| {{fb|KOR|1949|name=South Korea B}} || {{fb|IDN}} ||  {{center|0–0 {{aet}} {{pso|4–3}}}} || {{fb|MAS}} 
|- 
|2 || 1983 || '''{{fb|AUS}}''' || {{center|4–2}} || {{fb|SIN}} || {{fb|CHN}} || {{center|2–0}} || {{fb|KOR|1949|name=South Korea B}}
|- 
|3 || [[1984 Merlion Cup|1984]] || '''{{fb|IRQ|1963}}'''|| {{center|2–1 {{aet}}}} || {{fb|KOR|1949|name=South Korea B}} || {{fb|NED}} || {{center|3–0}} || {{fb|AUS}}
|- 
|4 || 1985 || '''{{fb|YUG|name=Yugoslavia Amateur}}'''|| {{center|– {{refn|[[round-robin tournament|Round-robin]] format.|group=note|name=rrob}}}} || {{fb|SIN}} || {{flagicon|GER}} [[Eintracht Frankfurt]] || {{center|– {{refn|group=note|name=rrob}}}} || {{fb|MAS}} 
|- 
|5 || 1986 || '''{{fb|CHN}}''' || {{center|2–1}} || {{fb|PRK}} || {{fb|CAN}} || {{center|1–0}} || {{fb|SIN}} 
|- 
|6 || 1992 || '''{{fb|KOR|1949|name=South Korea B}}'''|| {{center|3–1}} || {{fb|CHN}} || {{fb|SIN}}|| {{center|– {{refn|group=note|name=rrob}}}} || {{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Lokomotiv Moscow]]  
|- 
|7 || 2009 || '''{{flagicon|England}} [[Liverpool FC|Liverpool]]''' || {{center|5–0}} || {{fb|SIN}} || || ||
|- 
|8 || [[2019 Merlion Cup|2019]] || '''{{fbu|22|SIN|name=Singapore U-22}}''' || {{center|1–0}} || {{fbu|22|THA|name=Thailand U-22}} || {{fbu|22|IDN|name=Indonesia U-22}} || {{center|5–0}} || {{fbu|22|PHI|name=Philippines U-22}}
|- 
|9 || 2023 || '''{{fbu|22|MAS|name=Malaysia U-22}}''' || {{center|2–1}} || {{fbu|23|HKG|name=Hong Kong U-22}} || {{fbu|22|CAM|name=Cambodia U-22}} || {{center|2–1}} || {{fbu|22|SIN|name=Singapore U-22}}
|- 
|10 || [[2024 Merlion Cup|2024]] ||  ||  ||  ||  || || 
|}
;Notes
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/merlion.html RSSSF archive] - includes details of all matches

{{Football in Singapore}}
{{Friendly association football tournaments in Asia}}

[[Category:International association football competitions hosted by Singapore]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1982]]
[[Category:Non-FIFA football competitions]]