The preparations for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ gathered momentum today with the appointment of AFC Executive Committee and FIFA Council member Mariano Araneta, Jr. of the Philippines as the Chairperson of the Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup by the newly elected AFC Executive Committee in its first meeting chaired by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, in Manama, Bahrain.
The Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup advises and assists the AFC Executive Committee on matters relating to the AFC Asian Cup™ and is responsible for organising the flagship national team competition of Asia. The remaining members of the Committee will be confirmed in due course.
Meanwhile, members of the Committee also approved the AFC President’s proposal to appoint Mr. Zaw Zaw from Myanmar as the Senior Vice President of the AFC Executive Committee.
Turning their attention to club football, the AFC Executive Committee unanimously approved the establishment of a dedicated AFC Professional Football Task Force to oversee the transformation of Continental club football, set in motion by the AFC Competitions Committee last year.
“The new AFC Executive Committee has today underlined its intention to further accelerate our positive football journey through these two important decisions,” said Shaikh Salman.
“We want to ensure that the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ is organised to the highest possible standards and remembered as the best ever, and the activation of the Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup is testimony to our sincere efforts and belief.
“We have already signalled our ambitions to elevate Asian club football to new heights and the setting-up of the AFC Professional Football Task Force is a timely step in the right direction following the approval of strategic reforms to the AFC’s club competitions late last year.”
Several game-changing initiatives – including the introduction of new competition formats, lifting the foreign player quota, and increasing the financial distribution model – aimed at ushering a new era of progress were approved by the AFC Competitions Committee and consequently endorsed by the AFC Executive Committee in December 2022.
The AFC Professional Football Task Force is mandated with offering guidance and steering the wide-ranging reforms towards enhancing technical performance, driving greater commercial value, and further enriching the Asian football fan experience.
Source: The-AFC.com
