KUALA LUMPUR − The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee has agreed to set up an Elite Club Competition Task Force comprising several countries in an effort to strengthen the standard of matches and competitions in the Asian region.
The latest move was taken at the 9th AFC executive committee meeting for the 2019-2023 term in Doha, Qatar, which was attended by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
Hamidin, who is a member of the committee, is optimistic that the move will take elite club competitions to a higher level, especially in driving commercial value.
“The AFC is always committed to improving the standard of competitions and matches in Asia for the benefit of the affiliates in order to bring better success as well as create a brighter future (for Asian football),” he said in a post on FAM’s official Facebook today.
The meeting, which took place yesterday, was chaired by AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and was attended by AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John.
According to the post, the Elite Club Competition Task Force will involve Australia, China, Japan and South Korea for the Eastern region.
For the Western region, the countries comprise Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
The Elite Club Competition Task Force will make recommendations and submit working papers to the AFC Competitions committee and, subsequently, to the executive committee in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the AFC executive committee also upheld the decision of the AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer committee to amend the rules of the 2022 AFC Asian Futsal Cup and the 2022 AFC Futsal Club Championship at the same meeting.
The committee also gave the go-ahead for proposed amendments to the AFC statutes, which will be tabled for approval at the 32nd AFC Congress on May 18.
Meanwhile, Hamidin will also lead the Malaysian delegation to the FIFA Congress, which will also be held today in Doha. – Bernama, March 31, 2022
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