April 10 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will hold its 35th Congress this Saturday, April 12, in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where the regional governing body is headquartered.
To be held at the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, the congress is not an electoral event but nevertheless comes at an important time for the AFC after a year that has seen it expand its flagship club competitions and launch new women’s competitions.
The congress also takes place on the cusp of the process to award contract for the sale of its commercial and media rights for the next commercial cycle – perhaps the most important piece of business the AFC has before it currently.
In 2024 the AFC delivered a historic 16 competitions, including the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, that broke all records for the championship that was expanded to 24 teams in 2019 in the UAE. In 2027 Saudi Arabia will host the finals and organisers promise yet another major step forward for the Asian Cup in the region’s most ambitious of member associations.
The Congress will have the opportunity to review the progress of its new two-tier men’s Champion League structure as well as its inaugural Women’s Champions League in the week that competition completed its quarter final stage. China’s Wuhan Jiangda have progressed to face Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City in one semi-final, while Australia’s Melbourne City meeting South Korea’s Hyundai Steel Red Angels in the other. The semi-finals will be centralised in Wuhan China and played May 21, ahead of the final four days later.
The AFC Congress will also receive reports on the expanded activities of the AFC’s breakthrough education department and the progress of, development, technical and refereeing programmes.
Central to AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa’s leadership has been an emphasis on Asian solidarity in the world’s largest confederation, and a focus on improvement from the pitch to the committee rooms. Creating a common sense of purpose and inclusivity has not been straightforward for a confederation that only 10 years ago was split by political infighting and struggling to maintain cohesion.
That unity will be crucial in the negotiations for the new commercial cycle, a point Salman is expected to emphasise to his member associations.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1744950633labto1744950633ofdlr1744950633owedi1744950633sni@n1744950633osloh1744950633cin.l1744950633uap1744950633
