Asian Touch Cup 2020

The inaugural Asian Touch Cup 2020 will be hosted in Shanghai, China in October next year, the Federation of International Touch has confirmed.

The first Asian Touch World Cup was played in Malaysia earlier in 2019.

(Feature Photo credit: Touch Singapore)

UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FIT (Federation of International Touch) has postponed the Asian Touch Cup 2020.  A statement read “In agreement with the host nation, China, we have postponed the 2020 Asian Touch Cup. We will review the situation in July 2020 to decide if we will reschedule the tournament in 2021.”

Asian Touch Cup

Credit: Touch Singapore

In a press statement from the Federation of International Touch (FIT), they said the “Asian Cup will attract national men’s, women’s and mixed teams from across Asia, including newly minted FIT member Sri Lanka.”

In addition, General Secretary of the China Touch Association, Mr Topy Xu, said, “This a is a massive honour for China, and we are looking forward to welcoming the best Touch players from our continent to Shanghai. This event will build on the momentum established at the Touch World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year where the best teams from Asia met head-on with the sport’s leading lights Australia and New Zealand.”

The FIT Event Director, Mr Gary Reynolds, also weighed in on how regular high standard competitions are good for the growth of the game. “Europe has shown that through more regular competition, performances have improved with the likes of England on the verge of semi-finals in Men’s and Women’s Open and Scotland taking home bronze in the Mixed Open at the World Cup.

The Shanghai venue is perfect for this inaugural event. As the long-time home of the Shanghai International Touch Tournament, which regularly attracts club teams from across Asia, many of the Asian Cup participants will already be familiar with the facilities.”

• Venue: Shanghai Tan Sports Public Park, China
• Date: 18-20 October 2020

SITT 2019

The venue for the first Asian Touch Cup is the same as which the Shanghai International Touch Tournament (SITT) will be played in November 2019. There are over 50 teams across 7s divisions in action and it will be the 16th edition of the touch tournament in Shanghai. It is organised by the Shanghai Touch Association.

Touch World Cup 2019 Malaysia

The first Touch World Cup to be held in Asia, took place in Malaysia earlier this year. There was representation from Asia from the following countries:

• China
• Chinese Taipei
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• UAE

Read about other Asian Touch Rugby tournaments

• The Pan Pacific All Schools Touch Championships 2019 takes place in November in Singapore.
• SASMITTT (Southerners Annual Social Mixed International Touch Tournament Thailand) 2019 is confirmed for Bangkok in November 2019.
• The Jon Ellwood Touch Tournament will be played in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on the 1st December 2019.
• The HK All Women Touch Tournament is in April 2020.
• The best rugby tournaments in Asia this November and the best touch rugby!