Under the agreement, Sportradar will continue to support the AFC Integrity Unit with the Intelligence and Investigation Services (I&I) which have proved vital in the fight against match-fixing in the region.

Starting in 2013, the AFC and Sportradar have created a formidable integrity partnership which has been defined by the identification of and strong action against match-fixing, which has seen the AFC Integrity Unit become one of the global leaders in sports integrity.

NSIM will now be part of seven established medical centres under the AFC Medical Centre of Excellence which was launched in 2018 to provide better healthcare for footballers in Asia while looking at ways to improve sports medicine research.

The date of the tournament – involving China PR, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Thailand – are unchanged and will be played from February 3 to 9, 2020.

The top two sides will qualify for the play-off – on a home and away basis – against the top two teams from Group A – Korea Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam – for the final two places, alongside hosts Japan, at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

With the aim of producing more world-class match officials, participants undergo a structured programme focused on practical, theoretical, classroom sessions, technical education and fitness. They are also educated on the latest amendments to the Laws of the Game.

It was a successful year in 2019 with Batch 2017 completing five modules of the Intermediate Level, while Batch 2018 underwent the full Introductory Level and kicked off the first module of the Intermediate Level from December 8 to 12, 2019.

The expanded list of participants included LGCs and LMOs from other competitions to ensure the seminar was more inclusive and that more Member Associations could benefit from the two-day event.

Chaired by the AFC President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Executive Committee agreed that the hosts for the future AFC Asian Cups should be given more preparation time in the future – with the 2027 hosts being appointed as soon as possible.

The AFC President said: “At the AFC 29th Congress in Paris, we chose the People’s Republic of China as the next hosts of the AFC Asian Cup in 2023. And I know that China PR will deliver a world class event – in keeping with the stature of the AFC Asian Cup.

Meeting in Paris, the AFC Executive Committee, approved the appointment of Mr Kanatbek Mamatov (Kyrgyz Republic) from the Central Asian Football Association. Mr Anura De Silva (Sri Lanka) will represent the South Asian Football Federation with Pol. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung (Thailand) assuming the co-opted seat for the ASEAN Football Federation.

The representatives from the East Asian Football Federation and West Asian Football Federation will be decided at a later date.  The term of office for all the co-opted Executive Committee members from the Regional Associations is from 2019 until the 30th AFC Ordinary Congress, which will be held in 2020.