By Andrew Warshaw
July 12 – FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan has urged the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to be more unified and pull eastern and western factions together.
In an address to the Inaugural Conference for Regional Federations in Amman, Jordan – headquarters of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) – Prince Ali indicated that the different interests and cultures within the region risked hindering progress and stressed the need to work more closely.
The political differences within the AFC have not been helped by the fact that former AFC supremo Mohamed Bin Hammam is still awaiting the outcome of his life ban over bribery allegations, due to be finally resolved later this month.
“The Asian Football Confederation family comprises 46 member associations that are congregated into four regional football federations, each serving their football zone,” Prince Ali explained.
“Our regional federations – the ASEAN, West Asia, East Asian and South and Central – all represent the principal pillars of the Asian Football Confederation.
“They are part and parcel of AFC.
“AFC cannot work independently of these football federations.
“Similarly, our regional federations cannot advance without AFC’s leadership and its full cooperation.
“It is in the spirit of unity, solidarity and harmony in the Asian football family, that I wrote to the Presidents of the regional zones last October, in my capacity as both FIFA vice-president, as well as President of the West Asian Football Federation, to garner support from all of you to seek the official recognition of our four regional federations by the AFC.
“Embracing our own federations will only strengthen our football family; in spirit and in action.
“AFC can and should play a more proactive role to enhance cooperation, support our programmes, and encourage football exchanges on the competition and developmental levels between all four regions.”
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