Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President, today thanked the Qatar Football Association for their willingness to host the return of the AFC Champions League in the West region.
At the AFC Executive meeting, held online, the AFC President congratulated everyone involved in the hard work that has been required to ensure that the AFC Champions League Group Stage West region and knockout rounds can go ahead safely.
Shaikh Salman said: “A huge amount of work has been undertaken to ensure these matches can kick off on September 14 and the AFC has been extremely professional in ensuring that the matches can go ahead and go ahead safely.
“These matches will be dedicated to our frontline health and care workers who have been the real stars in recent months. The return of football is something to celebrate and so is the contribution of the frontline workers.
“It gives some hope to see football back and there has been great work in putting in place the necessary protocols and procedures to keep everyone safe, so we are taking the first steps. We will also work closely with all the stakeholders in Asia and with FIFA to ensure that football continues.”
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President, today thanked the Qatar Football Association for their willingness to host the return of the AFC Champions League in the West region.
At the AFC Executive meeting, held online, the AFC President congratulated everyone involved in the hard work that has been required to ensure that the AFC Champions League Group Stage West region and knockout rounds can go ahead safely.
Shaikh Salman said: “A huge amount of work has been undertaken to ensure these matches can kick off on September 14 and the AFC has been extremely professional in ensuring that the matches can go ahead and go ahead safely.
“These matches will be dedicated to our frontline health and care workers who have been the real stars in recent months. The return of football is something to celebrate and so is the contribution of the frontline workers.
“It gives some hope to see football back and there has been great work in putting in place the necessary protocols and procedures to keep everyone safe, so we are taking the first steps. We will also work closely with all the stakeholders in Asia and with FIFA to ensure that football continues.”
The AFC Executive Committee recognised that the pandemic has affected the ability of the AFC to deliver its competitions. With this in mind and taking into consideration the need to prioritise the welfare of young players, as well as the travel and health challenges, the AFC U-16 and AFC U-19 Championships, scheduled for Bahrain and Uzbekistan, have been postponed until early 2021.
In view of the logistics in coordinating the five zones of the AFC Cup and completing the Inter Zone matches, the AFC Executive Committee also agreed that the pandemic created complexities which constituted a Force Majeure event and, with sadness, led to the cancellation of the 2020 competition.
The AFC Solidarity Cup has also been cancelled because of the Force Majeure event and will now be played in 2024 and the AFC Futsal Club Championship UAE 2020 will be cancelled with the United Arab Emirates hosting the next event in 2021.
Shaikh Salman added: “These are tough times for everyone connected with football – and sport in general. We are taking steps to ensure the financial well-being of the AFC and its MAs.
“I am certain that with the unity and solidarity for which the AFC has become admired across football, we can overcome this latest challenge.”
The AFC Executive Committee approved the 2019 Audited Financial Statement and the independent Audit Report as well as the revised Budget for 2020. They also approved the members of the AFC Club Licensing Task Force and the AFC Safety and Security Task Force for the remainder of the 2019-2023 term.
The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic mean that the AFC Executive Committee agreed that it was no longer possible to host the 30th AFC Congress in person in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 9, 2020. The 30th AFC Congress will now be held online.
