Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, continued his consultation process with the AFC Member Associations when he met the South Zone Presidents and Officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday.
After meeting ASEAN Member Associations in the Malaysian capital on Monday evening, Shaikh Salman had chaired the AFC Executive Committee earlier in the day and has also launched the new AFC Women’s Asian Cup trophy at AFC House.
Then at the meeting with the South Zone Member Associations, Shaikh Salman continued his message of strength through unity and knowledge sharing.
The AFC President said that the meetings were vital in providing information on the AFC’s development plans as well as offering the MAs a forum in which they could share their views and comments.
Shaikh Salman praised the South Zone countries for their continued quest for improvement and highlighted the success of several of the Member Associations in hosting competitions and events under the banner of the AFC.
He also offered congratulations to India for their excellent staging of the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year, which offered the world another glimpse of Asia’s ability to create a platform for the leading young players in football.
The AFC President recognised the ambitions of the Member Associations in South Asia and promised to match that ambition with support from the AFC in developing the game in the region as he said: “The AFC is only as strong as its members and the stronger the AFC members the stronger the AFC."
He said that the continued unity of the game in Asia was vital in maintaining the current development while he added that it was vital the AFC offered protection from outside interference which threatened not only the independence of the Member Associations but also could hinder their progress.
In return the South Zone members thanked the AFC President for his initiatives which benefited the game in their countries and stressed that the open communication encouraged by Shaikh Salman helped foster stronger relationships.