Started in 2012, Club Licensing in Asia has achieved great success with almost all Member Associations in Asia adopting the system to professionalise football across the Continent.

Chaired by Hamad Mohamed Aljneibi, the Task Force noted the incredible progress of the Club Licensing Regulations despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while recognising the need to introduce more progressive steps to enhance the professional development of clubs.

The quartet are among nine Medical Officers including Doping Control Officers working behind the scenes to ensure the safety of players and officials at the AFC Champions League (East) in Doha, Qatar.

Elaborating further on the medical precautions taken ahead of the AFC Champions League (East), which will restart on Wednesday, November 18, Dr Abdulwahab told the-AFC.com: “During the AFC Champions League (West), we were dealing with large delegations and keeping the players and all stakeholders safe and healthy was a challenge but we rose to it and expanded our capacity accordingly.

“The screening and safety protocols and the enforcement of the bio bubble logistics that were in place during the West Zone leg will be replicated during the East Zone matches as well.

“We conduct multiple tests, which begins before the arrival of a team. All the arriving players and officials are required to have a COVID-19 free certificate, which must be presented by all guests at the airport. Subsequently they are tested again upon arrival, and these tests are conducted every three to four days and, depending on the circumstances, one or two days before every match.”

The session was conducted to brief medical personnel on the Medical Guidelines that cover the precautionary measures and explain the bio-secure bubble which controls and limits the movements of players and officials for the duration of the competition.

In a special video message to participants, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John, said: “The last time the People’s Republic of China hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2004, it was staged in just four cities. At the time, Asia’s top 16 teams competed in 32 matches, which is a stark difference to the 24 teams who will be competing across 51 matches in 2023.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had worked with the Qatar Authorities to establish the best possible environment for the safe return of Asian Football.

To achieve this, strict protocols and health regulations were put in place for the AFC Champions League (West) since it restarted on September 14 and a total of 8,563 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for COVID-19 testing were conducted on players and officials during the duration of the competition.