AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John, in his opening address, said: “I am pleased to note the five AFC Regional Associations have been working closely with FIFA and the AFC to provide more Member Associations with opportunities to compete in top-level tournaments.

“Since 2017, Asia has staged 24 youth and women competitions, benefitting 43 Members from across the five regions.

As part of the AFC’s commitment to strengthen the capabilities of its Member Associations, the state-of-the-art CMS allows Member Associations to control and manage all aspects of their competitions across every stage of a season.

Launched in collaboration with Genius Sports, a global leader in sports technology and developers of the FIFA Connect platform, the CMS has been modernising the way Member Associations manage competitions, saving valuable time and resources and empowering them to take greater control in data generation.

Receiving the delegation was PLC CEO Waleed Al Hosani, and the two parties discussed details of the project and its importance to the development of academies, marketing and media sectors at clubs and the league.

The development project aims to boost the culture of sport professionalism which the PLC places as an objective in its 2017-2020 strategic plan, targeting the development of work systems within UAE Pro League clubs, especially in the areas of academies, marketing and media.

Undoubtedly one of the fastest movers in Asia, the men’s national team have emerged from a modest 175 in 2015, to among the world’s top 100 nations in the FIFA World Ranking in 2017.

At the youth level, the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 – the first-ever FIFA competition staged in the country – served as a catalyst for the game’s growth after the tournament broke all attendance records in the history of FIFA age-group competitions.

In one of the greatest comebacks in Asian youth football history, the Central Asians displayed true grit and determination to brush aside their opening day 6-2 defeat to Malaysia before storming into their first-ever final, and in doing so, secured their place amongst the world’s elite in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2019.

The achievement was even more impressive considering the challenges in football infrastructure facing the football-loving nation, particularly in the country’s football capital – the Republican Central Stadium.

Successor to the former top-tier football league in the Philippines, the PFL celebrated its inaugural season in 2017, with Ceres Negros clinching the title.

PFF President Mariano V. Araneta Jr. was presented with the award by AFC Development Committee Chairman Zhang Jian after the 28th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“This is an award that will inspire us to improve our league, and our clubs to do better. We hope that the PFL continues for many years to come,” said the PFF President.

But the War Elephants’ rise has by no means been fortuitous. Behind the scenes, the industrious and inventive engine was set in motion two years ago, when a joint Strategic Planning Mission conducted by the AFC and FIFA sparked the genesis to institute a new 20-year strategic masterplan.

Embodying the principles and outcomes of the newly-structured AFC President’s Development Initiative (PDI), the mission sought to engage FA Thailand’s key decision makers and together, identified the future goals and action plans before establishing key levers to elevate the level of professionalism and administration standards in Thailand.