East Asia Domestic Wrap: Kashima blow Japan title race wide open

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

East Asia Domestic Wrap: Kashima blow Japan title race wide open

Kuala Lumpur: Kashima Antlers came out the victors after their top-of-the-table clash against leaders FC Tokyo turned the heat up in the J.League title hunt.

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors gained a little breathing room at the top of K League 1 in Korea Republic, Beijing FC reduced the lead of front-runners Guangzhou Evergrande, and there was plenty of domestic football action in Hong Kong, Mongolia and Chinese Taipei.

Central Asian Domestic Wrap: Kyrgyz rivals draw, Afghan finalists confirmed

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Central Asian Domestic Wrap: Kyrgyz rivals draw, Afghan finalists confirmed

Bishkek: Neither side was able to deliver a knockout blow in the crucial meeting between the Kyrgyz Premier League’s big two, while the Afghan Premier League reached fever pitch with semi-final action.

Join the-AFC.com as we cast an eye over the domestic action throughout Central Asia.

West Asia Domestic Wrap: Early honours for Sharjah, Al Ahed

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

West Asia Domestic Wrap: Early honours for Sharjah, Al Ahed

Jeddah:  Sharjah FC claimed the first silverware of the UAE 2019-20 season by lifting the UAE Super Cup on Saturday while Al Ahed geared up for the 2019 AFC Cup West Asia Zonal final by winning the Lebanon Super Cup on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia's 2019 AFC Champions League hopefuls, meanwhile, did not enjoy a winning return to the Saudi Pro League after the international break.

With Al Sadd sitting out last weekend's domestic action to focus on their 2019 AFC Champions League quarter-final against Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr on Monday, Al Arabi and Al Gharafa shared top spot in the Qatar Stars League after registering their second wins of the season.

Join the-AFC.com as we recap the domestic action in West Asia.

AFC introduces Live Monitor to push competition to next level 

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

AFC introduces Live Monitor to push competition to next level 

Chonburi: Teams competing in the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship Thailand 2019 have been equipped with the Opta Live Monitor tool.

The Live Monitor is being used for the first time in AFC competitions and the Group A teams - Australia, Bangladesh, Japan and hosts Thailand - experienced its benefits first hand in Chonburi, Thailand on Sunday.

Development of Asian goalkeepers strengthened

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Development of Asian goalkeepers strengthened

Kuala Lumpur: The high-level AFC Goalkeeping Coaching Tutors’ Course 2019 concluded in Kuala Lumpur on Friday with participants praising its comprehensive curriculum and expressed their willingness to impart their knowledge to coaches in their respective countries.

Combining the best standards in theory and practice, the four-day course was led by internationally recognised goalkeeping coach and tutor Frans Hoek, formerly of Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the national teams of Netherlands and Poland, with a specific focus on strengthening the development of specialist coaches.

Asia’s Referee Directors gain valuable insights at latest workshop

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Asia’s Referee Directors gain valuable insights at latest workshop

Kuala Lumpur: Asian refereeing continues to raise its standards with the two-day AFC Member Associations (MA) Referee Directors Workshop 2019 which concluded on Tuesday.

A total of 39 referee directors from across the Continent participated in the bi-annual event aimed at providing the Member Associations' (MAs) Referees Departments with support and guidance to professionalise refereeing administration and education programmes at the MA level. 

AFC Referees Committee Deputy Chairperson Hany Taleb B S Al-Raeesi, who gave the closing remarks, said: “I believe we have gained some useful insights during this workshop and I know every one of you is fully committed to ensuring the success of our officials.

Star-studded AFC Elite Club Coaches' Forum concludes in Shanghai

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Star-studded AFC Elite Club Coaches' Forum concludes in Shanghai

Shanghai: Asia’s top competitions – the AFC Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League – were discussed by the top coaches at the fourth AFC Elite Club Coaches’ Seminar which was held again in Shanghai, China PR during the last two days.

Gerard Houllier, the former France and Liverpool coach, joined the coaching talent which included former AFC Asian Cup winning coach Ange Postecoglou, who won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup with Australia and now coaches Yokohama F Marinos in Japan.

Last year’s beaten finalist AFC Champions League with Persepolis, Branko Ivankovic, (now with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli), Iceland’s Heimir Hallgrimsson who coaches Al-Arabi in Qatar and Gabriel Calderon, now Persepolis in the Islamic Republic of Iran, represented the West.