Jakarta: We’re now just three weeks away from the kick-off to the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, with the latest stop on the Trophy Tour taking place last Saturday.

Having already visited Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur over the past couple of months, the Indonesian capital Jakarta was the latest port of call on November 26.

Fans of the Garuda flocked to the free-to-attend event at Lippo Mall Puri to interact with former Indonesian internationals Budi Sudarsono and Ilham Jaya Kesuma, who also led a training clinic, took part in a Q&A session and signed autographs for those in attendance.

Budi represented Indonesia between 2001 and 2010, appearing in several AFF Championships and scoring in both the 2002 and 2008 editions, with his equaliser against Vietnam in 2002 helping his nation advance to the knockout rounds before eventually finishing as runners-up.

In 2008, meanwhile, the striker finished as the tournament’s joint-top scorer on four goals, netting a hat-trick against Cambodia and another goal against Myanmar in the group stage at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium before the Garuda exited in the semi-finals.

Ilham played for the Merah Putih between 2004 and 2007, netting a hugely impressive 13 goals in 18 games. He appeared in and scored at two editions of the AFF Championship.

Indeed in 2004, he scored a hat-trick against Cambodia, a brace against Laos and another goal against Vietnam in the group stage before getting on the scoresheet in the semi-final win over Malaysia. Defeat to Singapore in the final ended Indonesia’s dream but their star striker picked up the top scorer accolade.

He added another to his tally in a draw with Singapore in 2007, but the Garuda exited at the group stage.

The current generation of Indonesian players will be looking to finally end the nation’s long wait for the AFF Championship title at the upcoming 2022 edition, with the Merah Putih having finished as runners-up on six occasions.

They open their campaign at home to Cambodia on December 23 before taking on Brunei Darussalam on December 26. Next is a repeat of the 2020 final against Thailand in Indonesia on December 29 and they’ll then round off Group A in Manila against the Philippines on January 2.

The Trophy Tour reaches its final destination in a few days' time when it lands in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, December 3 as the build-up to the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 continues.

Upcoming dates of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 Trophy Tour

3 December – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam