KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean Cup, often dubbed the "World Cup of Southeast Asia", appears to be losing its lustre in its 15th edition this year.
First held in 1996, the biennial tournament has long captured the imagination of the region's nearly 698 million people.
Yet, global and continental success remains a distant dream for the nations.
This year, the competition has been marred by the absence of several star players, with clubs unwilling to release them for national duty since the tournament is not part of the FIFA calendar.
Football pundit Dr Zulakbal Abdul Karim believes the tournament's decline stems from the reluctance to confront the realities of football in Southeast Asia.
"This is the Asean World Cup. Unfortunately, it doesn't fall under the FIFA calendar, so clubs have no obligation to release their players to the national teams," said Zulakbal, an Asian Football Confederation Professional Coaching Diploma holder.
"We need to be realistic. The Asean Cup is likely the only international competition that Southeast Asian teams can win.
"Football in the region is improving, but the gap between us and other Asian teams remains significant."
Zulakbal said the Asean Cup is a platform for growth, calling for greater seriousness in its organisation and vision.
"The Asean Cup should serve as a stepping stone for regional teams to become competitive at the Asian level. We need to elevate the standard of the competition before discussing the goal of winning the Asian Cup."
Zulakbal urged the Asean Football Federation (AFF) to work towards securing a spot for the Asean Cup in the FIFA calendar.
"FIFA should consider the plight of smaller nations that lack the resources or infrastructure of more established footballing nations to play exclusively on international match days," he said.
Zulakbal also proposed changes to the format, which runs almost a month despite involving just 10 teams.
"The format takes too long to conclude. While the home-and-away final format excites fans, we need to assess whether it's beneficial in the long run," he said.
The onus, Zulakbal argued, lies with the national federations to elevate the tournament's prestige.
"For the Asean Cup to become a prestigious competition, national federations must take it seriously.
"There is always a way to raise standards, but without commitment from the countries, the competition loses its purpose."