The meeting was to discuss the progress of the Normalisation Committee which is tasked with holding PFF Executive Committee elections by June 2020 by the Bureau of the FIFA Council.

Dato' Windsor said: "We expect this NC to focus mainly on two tasks, holding the elections at all levels and running the day-to-day football affairs by ensuring Pakistan’s participation in international and regional competitions.

The 3rd AFC Youth Conference was attended by close to 100 delegates – among them some of the most experienced coaches of youth football in Asia.

Andy Roxburgh, the AFC Technical Director who led the Conference, set the tone on the first day with a keynote presentation on elite youth football titled ‘An Asian Adventure,’ which provided insights on the key elements and systems for youth coaches to achieve success.

Chaired by Mr. Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar, the Committee recognised the importance for Member Associations to develop their digital media capabilities to better engage with Asia’s passionate fans and to grow the reach of the game, as outlined in the AFC’s Vision.

The Committee approved for the AFC to develop an over-arching strategy and embark on a digital audit process to help MAs understand their digital performance and share best practice as well as provide the appropriate digital support to accelerate the rising standards.

To help Member Associations develop in this crucial area, it was agreed that the AFC will commence a pilot programme with Member Associations from each of the five AFC regions.

The AFC Elite Youth Team Scheme is a key step in talent development that will help MAs to further develop their youth programmes.

To enhance the standards of elite player development, AFC’s Youth Scheme has highlighted a number of criteria that are necessary for the education of talented players – many of whom will become future international players.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who opened the meeting chaired by Dasho Ugen Tsechup, said: “The AFC is extremely proud of our new commercial partnership with DDMC Fortis, which was conducted with utmost professionalism.

"Our ambition is to ensure our Member Associations take full advantage of the commercial opportunities in the coming years to bring about positive change.

“We have seen many Member Associations make remarkable strides, but we want to do more, we want to be a leading Confederation and I am confident that this Committee will play a crucial role in carrying out our ambitions.”

At the second AFC Executive Committee meeting of the 2019-2023 cycle, chaired by longest-serving AFC Vice President and FIFA Council member, Saoud Al Mohannadi, in the absence of President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, it was decided to grow the two competitions.

From the 2021 season, the AFC Champions League will be expanded to 40 clubs with an extra group of four being added in both the East and West zones and further growing the reputation of one of the richest Continental club competitions in the world.

The Committee, chaired by Mahfuza Ahkter Kiron, met ahead of Saturday’s AFC U-16 Women’s Championship Thailand 2019 final, which will see DPR Korea compete against Japan in Chonburi.

Following their 2018 recommendation of the establishment of an AFC women’s club competition, the Committee agreed on a series of competition regulations, with the pilot edition, set to involve the champion clubs from four Member Associations - Australia, China PR, Japan and Korea Republic - to be staged on a round-robin basis from November 26 to 30, 2019.

The agreement follows a process involving the input of both the AFC Technical Division and AFC Competitions Department, with the AFC Women’s Club Championship considered a vital step forward in women’s club football throughout the Continent.