Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Asian Football Confederation: History, Member Associations, Awards

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Asian Football Confederation is one of the six confederations making up FIFA and is the governing body overlooking all the Football matches happening in the Asian subcontinent. The confederation was officially inaugurated on 8th May 1954 at Manila, Philippines and was officially recognized by FIFA on June 21st, 1954 at Berne, Switzerland.

The current headquarters of the Confederation is at Kualalumpur, Malaysia and it has 46 member associations and one associate member association. The current president of AFC is Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The tagline of the confederation “One Asia, one goal” clearly indicates the confederation’s strong vision of propagating, boosting, and maintaining the dignity of Football among the youngsters in the Asian sub-continent. So, let us know more about the Asian Football Confederation.

History of AFC

The founding members of the confederation were Afghanistan, Burma, China, HongKong, Iran, India, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and South Vietnam. The AFC Asian Cup is the second oldest competition of the tournament which started in the year 1956. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation was independently established in the year 1968 and merged with AFC in 1986. 

AFC Member Associations

The member association countries of the Asian Football Confederation are split into five regions. These five regions are as follows

  • West Asian Football Federation
  • Central Asian Football Association
  • South Asian Football Federation
  • East Asian Football Federation
  • A SEAN Football Federation

West Asian Football Federation

Following countries fall under WAFF

CodeAssociationNational TeamsFoundedFIFA AffiliationAFC AffiliationIOC member
BHRBahrainM, W195719681969Yes
IRQIraqM, W194819501970Yes
JORJordanM, W194919561970Yes
KUWKuwaitM, W195219641964Yes
LIBLebanonM, W193319361964Yes
OMAOmanM, W197819801980Yes
PLEPalestineM, W192819951995Yes
QATQatarM, W196019721974Yes
KSASaudi ArabiaM, W195619561972Yes
SYRSyriaM, W193619371970Yes
UAEUnited Arab EmiratesM, W197119741974Yes
YEMYemenM, W196219801980Yes

Central Asian Football Association

The countries associated with this association are as follows

CodeAssociationNational teamsFoundedFIFA AffiliationAFC AffiliationIOC member
AFGAfghanistanM, W193319481954Yes
IRNIranM, W192019481954Yes
KGZKyrgyzstanM, W199219941993Yes
TJKTajikistanM, W193619941993Yes
TKMTurkmenistanM, W199219931994Yes
UZBUzbekistanM, W194619941994Yes

South Asian Football Federation

This football federation has the following countries

CodeAssociationNational teamsFoundedFIFA AffiliationAFC AffiliationIOC member
BANBangladeshM, W197219761974Yes
BHUBhutanM, W198320001993Yes
INDIndiaM, W193719481954Yes
MDVMaldivesM, W198219861984Yes
NEPNepalM, W195119721954Yes
PAKPakistanM, W194719481954Yes
SRISri LankaM, W193919521954Yes

East Asian Football Federation

CodeAssociationNational teamsFoundedFIFA AffiliationAFC AffiliationIOC member
CHNChinaM, W192419311974Yes
GUMGuamM, W197519961991Yes
HKGHong KongM, W191419141954Yes
JPNJapanM, W192119211954Yes
PRKNorth KoreaM, W194519581974Yes
KORSouth KoreaM, W192819481954Yes
MACMacauM, W193919781978No
MNGMongoliaM, W195919981993Yes
NMINorth Mariana IslandsM, W2005N/A2009No
TPEChinese TaipeiM, W193619541954Yes

A SEAN Football Federation

CodeAssociationNational teamsFoundedFIFA AffiliationAFC AffiliationIOC member
AUSAustraliaM, W196119632006Yes
BRUBruneiM, W195219721969Yes
CAMCambodiaM, W193319541954Yes
IDNIndonesiaM, W193019521954Yes
LAOLaosM, W195119521968Yes
MASMalaysiaM, W193319541954Yes
MYAMyanmarM, W194719481954Yes
PHIPhilippinesM, W190719301954Yes
SINSingaporeM, W189219521954Yes
THAThailandM, W191619251954Yes
TLSTimor-LesteM, W200220052002Yes
VIEVietnamM, W196019521954Yes

Tournaments under Asian Football Confederation

There are various tournaments played under the AFC. These tournaments include the following AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League, AFC Cup, AFC Futsal Championship, AFC Futsal Club Championship, AFC President’s Cup, AFC U-14 Girls Championship, AFC U-16 Championship, AFC U-19 Championship, AFC Women’s Asian Cup, AFC U-16 Women’s Championship, AFC U-19 Women’s Championship, AFC U-14 Championship and AFC U-23 Championship. 

Management

AFC has come a long way since it was established and the confederation has continuously strived to spread the love and charm of Football in the Asian Subcontinent.  In order to achieve this motive with greater zeal, the management of the team has also made certain structural changes in AFC. These changes are as follows

  • They have a newly established commercial department
  • A General Administration and services department
  • Finance and HR Department
  • Competitions and Football event division

The AFC management is highly confident that these changes will enhance the opportunities provided to the next decade rising players, who are going to be the face of football in the near future. 

Vision and Mission of AFC

Now after so many successful decades, the main mission of AFC is to become the top football confederation in the world helping the Asian teams to win on bigger platforms and helping the member associations under it to unleash their full potential, raise the standard of Asian competitions and help football reach the peak in the Asian sub-continent.

AFC Awards

Asian Football Confederation is not only involved in organizing football matches in Asia but also gives awards and appreciates their highly acclaimed players. The AFC Annual Awards Function has come a long way and now is the most anticipated ceremony among the Asian Football players and fans. In this function, they acknowledge the hard work of the players by giving them the prestigious player of the year award. This award is given in both male and female categories.  In this way, the Confederation also builds the confidence of the star players for their contribution to the game. 

So, this is all you need to know about AFC, the Asian Football Confederation. If you think we have missed some information about it do leave a comment below and we would be happy to impart that into our blog.

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