Malaysia and Indonesia are proposing the formation of a trans-national soccer league in southeast Asia to help revitalise the club game in the region, according to Malaysia’s Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

Ahmad Shabery said his Indonesian counterpart Andi Mallarangeng had approved of the plan for the league, which would be set up within the framework of the 11-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“I believe a league among ASEAN countries will help raise the standard of football in the region,” he told Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama.

The ASEAN countries already compete against each other in a biennial competition for national teams as well as at the biennial South East Asian Games, the last version of which took place in Laos last year.

Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, East Timor and Vietnam are the other ASEAN nations.

July 31, 2010, Reuters