Asian Football Confederation
| Asian Football Confederation | |
|---|---|
 |
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 AFC members |
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| Motto | "The Future is Asia" |
| Formation | 8 May 1954 |
| Type | Sports organization |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Membership | 46 member associations (from 4 regional federations) |
| President |  Mohammed Bin Hammam |
| Website | www.the-afc.com |
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. Nations with both European and Asian territory, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia, are instead in the UEFA, as are Israel and Armenia, both of which lie entirely in Asia. On the other hand, Australia, formerly in the OFC, has been in the AFC since 2006.
The AFC was founded on 8 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines, and is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The main headquarters is located in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The current president is Mohammed Bin Hammam of Qatar.
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Formation
The AFC was formed officially on 8 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the second Asian Games. The 12 founder members were Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. It was officially sanctioned by FIFA on 21 June 1954, the day after Korea Republic was eliminated by a 0-7 loss to Turkey at the 1954 FIFA World Cup.[1]
AFC competitions
The AFC runs the Asian Cup, a competition for the national football teams of Asia held every four years, as well as the Asian World Cup Qualifying Tournament and the AFC Challenge Cup. It also runs the Asian Olympics Qualifying Tournament. The AFC also runs three levels of annual international club competitions. The most prestigious (and oldest of the current AFC club competitions) is the AFC Champions League tournament, based on the UEFA Champions League, formed in 2002/03 with the amalgamation of the Asian Champions Cup and the Asian Cup Winners Cup. (An Asian Super Cup competition between the winners of these two major tournaments ended with the birth of the AFC Champions League.) The other competitions branched off this in 2004 when the 'Vision Asia' blueprint for development was launched. This led to the top fourteen AFC nations, the 'mature nations', sending their best teams to the AFC Champions League. The next 14 nations, the 'developing nations' qualify to send their teams to the AFC Cup.
The rest of the AFC-affiliated countries, the 'emerging nations' send their teams to the AFC President's Cup. The teams which qualify from each country are usually the champions and the cup winners.[2] Currently there is no promotion and relegation between the different levels of nations.
The AFC plans to revamp 22 leagues in Asia, 10 of them by 2009-2012. This is due to the poor performance of Asian teams in the 2006 World Cup. The reforms include increasing transparency, increasing competitiveness, improving training facilities, and forcing the leagues to have a system of relegation and promotion.[3]
The 10 leagues marked for reform are Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, India, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The proposal would mark a radical change in Australia, where professional leagues in all sports are organised on a model of franchised teams and closed league membership, a system most commonly identified with the United States.
There are 12 AFC Nations that play in the UAFA organised Arab Nations Cup, namely: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Women's football in Asia
The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) is the section of the AFC who manage women's football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986 the ALFC merged with the AFC.[4] The Asian Ladies Football Confederation helped organise the AFC Women's Asian Cup, first held in 1975, as well as the AFC's AFC U-19 Women's Championship and the AFC U-17 Women's Championship.
Regions
The AFC has 46 member associations split into four regions.[1] Below shows the member national associations of the regional federations.
ASEAN Football Federation
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East Asian Football Federation
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Central and South Asian Football FederationSAFF Members
CAFF Members
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West Asian Football Federation
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Competitions
AFC tournaments
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Regional tournaments
- ASEAN: ASEAN Football Championship (formerly known as the Tiger Cup prior to 2007).
- Central Asia: Officially only 4 countries in this region (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan left for UEFA). No official tournament held between countries in this region.
- East Asia: East Asian Cup.
- South Asia: South Asian Football Federation Cup.
- West Asia: West Asian Football Federation Championship (Although not all West Asian Countries enter), Gulf Cup of Nations.
Awards
Asian Footballer of the Year
The Asian Footballer of the Year award is presented to the best football player from Asia. Officially awarded since 1994, its official name is Asian Football Confederation's Sanyo Player of the Year Award. Prior to 1994 it was awarded on an unofficial basis; the winners from 1988 to 1991 were chosen by IFFHS.
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AFC National Team of the Year
| Year | National Team |
|---|---|
| 2000 |  Japan |
| 2001 |  China PR |
| 2002 |  Korea Republic |
| 2003 |  Iraq |
| 2004 | Japan |
| 2005 | Japan |
| 2006 |  Australia |
| 2007 |  Iraq |
| 2008 | Japan |
| 2009 | Korea Republic |
Asian Young Footballer of the Year
The Asian Young Footballer of the Year award is presented to the best young football player from Asia. Officially awarded since 1995 with the first award being given to Omani player, Mohammed Al-Kathiri.
| Year | Footballer | Nation | Club | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Mohammed Al-Kathiri |  Oman |
Al-Nasr |
Man |
| 1996 | Bamrung Boonprom |  Thailand |
Bangkok Bank |
Man |
| 1997 | Mehdi Mahdavikia |  Iran |
Persepolis |
Man |
| 1998 | Shinji Ono | Japan |
Urawa Red Diamonds |
Man |
| 1999 | Waleed Hamzah | Qatar |
Al-Arabi |
Man |
| 2000 | Ryoichi Maeda | Japan |
Jubilo Iwata |
Man |
| 2001 | Du Wei | China |
Shanghai Shenhua |
Man |
| 2002 | Lee Chun-Soo | South Korea |
Ulsan Tigers |
Man |
| 2003 | Yoshito Okubo | Japan |
Cerezo Osaka |
Man |
| 2004 | Park Chu-Young | South Korea |
Korea University |
Man |
| 2005 | Choe Myong-Ho |  North Korea |
Kyonggongop |
Man |
| 2006 | Ma Xiaoxu | China |
Dalian Shide |
Woman |
| 2007 | Kim Kum-Il | North Korea |
April 25 Sports Group |
Man |
| 2008 | Ahmad Khalil |  United Arab Emirates |
Al-Ahli |
Men's Winners |
| Mana Iwabuchi | Japan |
NTV Beleza |
Women's Winners | |
| 2009 | Ki Sung-Yong | South Korea |
FC Seoul |
Man |
AFC Coach of the Year
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AFC Women's Player of the Year
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Summer Olympics qualifiers
(Note: Where applicable, numbers refer to the number of teams from each country)
Men
| Nation |  1900 |
 1904 |
 1908 |
 1912 |
.svg.png){kind=small} 1920 |
1924 |
 1928 |
.svg.png){kind=small} 1936 |
1948 |
 1952 |
1956 |
 1960 |
1964 |
 1968 |
 1972 |
 1976 |
 1980 |
 1984 |
1988 |
 1992 |
1996 |
2000 |
 2004 |
2008 |
2012 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan |
QF | • | QF | 3rd | • | QF | • | • | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| South Korea |
QF | • | • | • | • | • | QF | • | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| Australia |
QF | QF | 4th | • | • | QF | • | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
 India |
• | • | 4th | • | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Iraq |
QF | • | • | 4th | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| China |
• | • | • | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iran[notes 1] |
• | • | QF | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 Kuwait |
QF | • | • | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chinese Taipei |
• | • | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Israel |
QF | QF | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Qatar |
• | QF | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Saudi Arabia |
• | • | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thailand |
• | • | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Afghanistan |
• | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} Burma |
• | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Indonesia |
QF | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Malaysia[notes 1] |
• | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Korea |
QF | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Syria |
• | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 56 |
Women
| Nation | 1996 |
2000 |
2004 |
2008 |
2012 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China |
2nd | • | • | QF | 4 | |
| Japan |
• | QF | 4th | 3 | ||
| Australia |
• | QF | 2 | |||
| North Korea |
• | 1 | ||||
| Total | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Notes
World Cup Participation and Results
- Legend
- 1st – Champion
- 2nd – Runner-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th - Fourth place
- QF – Quarterfinals
- R16 – Round of 16 (since 1986: knockout round of 16)
- GS – Group Stage
- 1S – First Knockout Stage (1934–1938 Single-elimination tournament)
- • – Qualified but withdrew
- — Hosts
Men's World Cup Finals
The following AFC members have competed in the following FIFA World Cups. Teams are sorted by number of appearances.
| Team |  1930 |
.svg.png){kind=small} 1934 |
1938 |
 1950 |
 1954 |
1958 |
 1962 |
 1966 |
1970 |
1974 |
.svg.png){kind=small} 1978 |
1982 |
1986 |
1990 |
1994 |
1998 |
2002 |
2006 |
 2010 |
2014 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korea Republic |
GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | 4th | GS | R16 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Japan |
GS | R16 | GS | R16 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia |
R16 | GS | GS | GS | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Iran[notes 1] |
GS | GS | GS | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Australia[notes 2] |
GS | R16 | GS | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Korea DPR |
QF | GS | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| China PR |
GS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| India |
• | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Indonesia[notes 3] |
1S | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Iraq |
GS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kuwait |
GS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| United Arab Emirates |
GS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Israel[notes 4] |
GS | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 30 |
Entrants by year
Totals (current members)
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Notes
- ↑ Iran withdrew before the draw was made in 1982 qualification and Disqualified In 1986.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup as part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) though they had joined the AFC by the time the competition started. From 1972 to 1978 they were not a member of any confederation.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Prior to independence in 1945 competed as Dutch East Indies, including their only World Cup finals appearance in 1938.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Israel is now a member of UEFA, having been expelled from the AFC in 1974. For every World Cup other than 1958 and 1970, Israel (Palestine prior to 1948) entered into the European qualification tournament.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Subsequently withdrew before the competition started over, depending on which source is referred to, the association's refusal to pay the necessary travelling expenses or FIFA's refusal to allow the team to play barefoot.
Women's World Cup qualifiers
The following table shows the AFC representatives at each edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, sorted by number of appearances. Australia made its first three appearances in the tournament as an OFC member.
| Team | 1991 |
1995 |
1999 |
2003 |
2007 |
2011 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China PR |
QF | 4th | 2nd | QF | QF | 5 | |
| Japan |
GS | QF | GS | GS | GS | Q | 6 |
| Australia |
GS | GS | GS | QF | Q | 5 | |
| Korea DPR |
GS | GS | QF | Q | 4 | ||
 Chinese Taipei |
GS | 1 | |||||
| Korea Republic |
GS | 1 | |||||
| Total | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 |
- Q - Qualified for the 2011 Women's World Cup
Rankings
Men's National TeamRankings are calculated by FIFA.[5]
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Women's National TeamsRankings are calculated by FIFA.[6]
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National League (by IFFHS)Rankings are calculated by IFFHS .
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Asian Football Clubs (by IFFHS)
Rankings are calculated by the IFFHS.[7]
| AFC | IFFHS | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58 | Pohang Steelers |
159,5 |
| 2 | 88 | Al-Karamah |
130,0 |
| 3 | 95 | Kashima Antlers |
127.5 |
| 4 | 102 | Al-Kuwait |
125.0 |
| 5 | 106 |  Becamex Bình Dương |
122.0 |
National League (by AFC)
This league ranking is used by the AFC to determine the number of participants in the AFC Champions League. The assessments was conducted by AFC Pro-League committee during 2006–2008, and is based on the football competitiveness, professionalism, marketability, and financial status of the league and its clubs. The assessment ranking will be updated every two years, as the next one will be published in November 2010.[8]
- AFC Final Assessment Ranking for 2009–2010 seasons
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† One of the A-League clubs, Wellington Phoenix, is based in New Zealand, an OFC member country. They were not allowed to compete during 2009–2010, though now, should they qualify, they have been allowed to participate in the 2011 and 2012 editions of the ACL, with a future review of their situation to take place. |
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See also
IFFHS Asia's best clubs of the 20th century
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About AFC". The-afc.com. 2007-09-06. http://www.the-afc.com/en/inside-afc/about-afc. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "archives". Taipei Times. 2007-02-14. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2007/02/14/2003349026. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Men) - AFC Region". FIFA. 08 April 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=25998&rank=189.
- ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Women) - AFC Region". FIFA. 12 March 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=f/fullranking.html#confederation=25998&rank=529.
- ↑ "TOP 350 Club World Ranking". IFFHS. 30 April 2010. http://www.iffhs.de/?10f42e00fa2d17f73702fa3016e23c17f7370eff3702bb1c2bbb6f28f53512.
- ↑ "12 Member Associations keen to join ACL". The-afc.com. 2009-11-30. http://www.the-afc.com/en/inside-afc/676-afc-news/26192-12-mas-keen-to-join-acl. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
External links
- Official Website
- AFC Asian Cup
- AFC Women's Asian Cup and AFC U-19 Women's Championship
- Asian women's football history
- FootballAsia.com - article on ranking systems for AFC club competitions
- AFC ranking League
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