November 25 – Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has delivered a strong message that the AFC is on track to deliver crucial qualifying competitions in 2021.
While there has been no competitive AFC national team fixtures played since the start of the covid-19 pandemic in March, Salman is confident that, working with FIFA, the World Cup 2022 qualifiers and Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will be completed in 2021, and without threat to public or player health.
He also emphasised that the AFC will emerge from the pandemic a stronger and more robust organisation not just to deliver its key competitions, but also the development programmes it has committed to.
Speaking after the AFC Executive Committee’s online meetings, he praised member associations for their support during the pandemic, emphasising that their unity and transparency over the past seven years will provide the foundations for their future.
“Sometimes you sail in calm waters, other times you weather the storm. I am certain the AFC can weather the current storm,” said Salman.
The AFC is currently playing out the East Zone group stages of its Champions League centralised in Qatar, with the final to be played December 19. Referencing the complexities of calendars and the organisational challenges it has taken to get the matches played, he said: “I am sure the AFC is on the right track and that if we continue to work together, we will be able to deliver our objectives and particularly our competitions. We have already shown that, in difficult circumstances, we are able to deliver our leading club competition – the AFC Champions League.
“This proves that even in the most challenging situations we are able to stage such a prestigious competition and we thank the Qatar FA and Qatari Authorities, the medical professionals and front liners, for their outstanding contribution. This combined effort ensured the AFC’s successful completion of the West Zone matches and now their continued assistance is on show in the East Zone competition.
“We are now looking forward to an outstanding AFC Champions League final on December 19, 2020 and we extend our gratitude to the Member Associations and clubs for helping us reach this important milestone. It has been a significant achievement which has demonstrated the exceptional professionalism which exists in Asia.”
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