Topic
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian and Australian continent. Australia, formerly in the OFC, joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, and the Oceanian island of Guam is also a member of AFC, in addition to Northern Mariana Islands. Hong Kong and Macau, although not independent countries are also members of the AFC. One of Fifa's six continental confederations, the AFC was formed officially on May 8, 1954 in Philippines. The main headquarters are located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The current president is Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain.
Hong Kong and China took different paths to elimination from the Asian Cup, but reflecting on their performance and progress will boost their prospects in the World Cup qualifiers
Hong Kong’s first home international fixture for three years should be remembered for its play, not the booing of the national anthem by a minority of fans.
The success of China’s female footballers has again put their male counterparts in the shade, and their strength of character deserves to be rewarded.
The holding of an important regional football competition would help restore Hong Kong’s positive and safe image, but residents must be assured that players and officials will abide by coronavirus rules.
- Fifa does not allow league matches to take place in foreign territories but a recent US lawsuit may change that
- In 2018, world football’s governing body blocked a La Liga match between Barcelona and Girona from being played in Miami
Report accuses bosses of ignoring players and clubs, says average quality of teams in competition inferior to the top domestic divisions in Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Readers discuss what the city should focus on after Lionel Messi’s failure to play in a much-publicised match, the need for accountability from event organisers, and the silver lining to the game.
Goalie Yapp Hung-fai is Hong Kong’s most capped player, while Philip Chan Siu-kwan could have followed in his father’s footsteps to become a jockey but chose football instead
China fail to take advantage of a raft of Qatar changes, slipping to a 1-0 defeat and, possibly, out of the AFC Asian Cup finals.
Poon Pui-hin scores twice as Hong Kong beat China 2-1 in an international friendly in Abu Dhabi. It is the city’s first win over their mainland counterparts in 29 years.
After a draw with South Korea, China are eliminated from the AFC Women’s Olympic Asian Qualifying tournament, marking this the second Olympic Games where China will not be represented.
The surge at a stadium in East Java last October left 135 dead. Indonesia has convicted 5 of 6 suspects who were charged with negligence but some victims’ relatives say the punishments do not go far enough.
Hong Kong’s Lee Man shown yawning gap to bridge to the continent’s best as they are denied place in Thursday’s draw for the 40-team group phase.
City’s footballers drawn in demanding group, with coach Szeto Man-chiu admitting: ‘There were some weaker teams in the pots, but unfortunately we did not draw them.’
Sports must do more to halt it, corruption detection expert says, with football hit by betting and alleged fixing storms and basketball seeing ‘explosion in fixing’.
Jorn Andersen’s team drawn in Group C for tournament, will face 3-time winners Iran, United Arab Emirates and Palestine. China given tricky draw, placed in Group A alongside defending champions Qatar.
Football chief Pui Kwan-kay believes ‘it will be easier for our players to adapt’ with the expected temperature similar to that of Hong Kong.
‘If Fifa and the AFC allow it and there’s a benefit for Asia then I don’t think there’s a problem with that,’ Saudi Arabia’s sports minister says.
HKFA vice-chairman Eric Fok says Hong Kong clubs being part of Chinese system important for growth of game in the city.
Du Zhaocai finishes last out of seven candidates in re-election with just 18 votes. Hong Kong football boss Eric Fok voted back in unopposed for AFC executive committee post.
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo faces a wait to make his Al Nassr debut because the Saudi club have exceeded their quota for foreign players.
Portuguese superstar calls himself ‘unique player’ during introduction to Saudi club’s fans and says his work in Europe was done.
Portuguese star’s new club Al Nassr gets 2.5 million new followers on social media within 24 hours of announcing signing.
The Russian Football Union’s executive committee is expected to meet on Friday to talk about switch, with club and national teams banned from competition over country’s invasion of Ukraine.
As Saudi Arabia fuels speculation that it could host a future Summer Olympics, Qatar is rumoured to be mulling its fourth bid for the Games. But what about those ‘sportswashing’ charges?
Asian Football Confederation confirms India’s decision to pull out of selection process, but does not elaborate as to why.
Desert kingdom is already in the running to stage the men’s tournament in 2027, and national team coach Monika Staab says successful bid could ‘inspire a generation’.
Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman highlights ‘existing world-class infrastructure and unrivalled hosting capabilities’ of desert nation, which is hosting World Cup next month.
All gates should be unlocked 10 minutes before the end of a match, but on Saturday, 7 minutes after the final whistle, several doors were still locked, contributing to the disaster.
Sheik Salman of Bahrain will lead region’s governing body for final term until 2027, while Yasser Almisehal, the Saudi football federation president, is aiming to give his country its first member on the decision-making council since 2016.
The prospect of a new challenge with Eastern Long Lions proved too hard for Tamirlan Kozubaev to resist.
