March 25 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has renewed its media rights deal with ESPN for the 2025-2028 cycle, ensuring continued exclusive coverage of Asian football across South America and Central America, while also holding non-exclusive rights in the Caribbean.
March 24 – The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the Korea Football Association (KFA) have formalised a new cooperation agreement aimed at driving technical development in Korean football and deepening commercial ties between one of Europe’s most broadcast leagues and one of Asia’s most engaged markets.
March 21 – With goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo in a 2-0 victory against Bahrain, Japan became the first country to qualify for the enlarged 48-team 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
March 21 – Marriott Bonvoy has been unveiled as the latest heavyweight partner of Hong Kong’s soon-to-be-opened Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP), in a multi-year deal that positions the global hotel group at the heart of Asia’s newest sports and entertainment hub.
March 19 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has signed a new partnership with leading Chinese fintech firm Du Xiaoman Technology, who will back the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 as a Global Supporter.
March 19 – The inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League 2024/25 has reached the quarter finals stage with matches to be played on Saturday, March 22, between the eight teams from eight different nations.
March 18 – The draw for the last eight of the AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2025 has pitched four West Asian sides against four from East Asia.
March 14 – Brighton owner Tony Bloom has acquired a minority stake in Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory, the league confirmed.
March 14 – Ahead of crunch World Cup qualifiers in March at home to Indonesia and away to China, Australia manager Tony Popovic has rung the changes in his squad, dropping striker Mitchell Duke and naming three debutants.
March 13 – After six years of financial restrictions, FIFA has finally given the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) full access to its funds, lifting the controls that had been in place since 2018.
The decision, confirmed in a letter from FIFA on March 7, means the BFF will now receive grants in standard instalments and be eligible for a wider range of FIFA development programmes.
March 12 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has launched the third edition of its AFC Certificate in Football Leadership (ACFL), a six-month programme run by the AFC Academic Centre of Excellence (ACE).
March 10 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) celebrated the 11th edition of its Women’s Football Day over the weekend, taking place in conjunction with International Women’s Day. It attracted nearly 24,000 participants from 40 AFC Member Associations (MAs), as it looked to showcase the continued growth of women’s football across the continent.
March 6 – ‘If you build it, they will come’ was the mantra behind the 1989 baseball movie Field of Dream. In Qatar’s case they keep on coming and November and December will see the Arab state full of footballers again.
March 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) World Cup qualifying competition has gained a new backer, with food delivery giant Keeta signing on as an Official Global Supporter.
March 3 – Australia’s rising stars etched their names into history, claiming their first-ever AFC U20 Asian Cup title with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over three-time winners Saudi Arabia in Shenzhen, China.
