Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manila: Asian Football Confederation President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has declared himself pleased with the efforts of all parties working on the preparations for next January’s AFC Asian Cup in Australia.
With just 42 days to go for the start of Asia’s biggest football competition, the Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup 2015 met under the chairmanship of AFC Vice-President His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah and was briefed on the minute details of the preparations for the 16-nation competition.
At the outset, AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa thanked the members of the committee, Australian Local Organising Committee (ALOC) and the AFC administration for doing a tremendous job so far and expressed confidence that the competition will be a great success.
He said six months after the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the world’s attention will be focused on the AFC Asian Cup in Australia and everyone is looking forward to an exciting tournament.
HRH Prince Abdullah said the preparations are already on track but it was timely to meet in the Philippines capital on the sidelines of the AFC’s 60th Anniversary celebrations.
The members were informed on the status of ticket sales, launch of mascot – a wombat called Nutmeg, international trophy tour, ambassador programme, pre-competition training camps and security arrangements.
The committee was briefed on medical and anti-doping matters, introduction of cooling breaks to protect the health of the players, launch of the AFC Asian Cup history databook and activities carried out in the recent past.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Salman also attended the Competitions and Auditing Committee meetings, during which he commended their significant roles in boosting football throughout the continent.
On Saturday, Shaikh Salman is scheduled to attend the AFC Executive Committee meeting, ahead of Sunday’s 60th Anniversary and Annual Awards night celebrations.