Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Executive Committee, chaired by AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong, met at AFC House on Friday and transacted important business during the meeting.
Some of the key decisions taken were:
- The members were updated on the circumstances in which Jilong, the AFC Senior Vice-President, stepped in as the AFC Acting President. In the absence of the President pursuant to Article 31 par 15 of the AFC Statutes for reasons as decided by the FIFA Ethics Committee on 29 May 2011, the appointed Senior Vice-President shall deputise and in the absence of an appointed Senior Vice-president, the longest serving Vice-President shall be deemed to be the Senior Vice President pursuant to Article 31 par. 14 of the AFC Statutes.
- The members were informed that the Legal Committee is in agreement that an Extraordinary Congress for the election of President may be convened in the event that the office of President falls vacant for more than one (1) year. This means that an Extraordinary Congress for this purpose could not be convened until after 30 May, 2012.
- AFC Legal Committee member Robert Torres made a presentation on the recent FIFA Ethics Committee investigation and decision, which placed former AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam under a life-ban from all football activities.
- The members recommended that a joint AFC-FIFA Taskforce be set up to proactively tackle match-fixing. The committee was informed that FIFA is considering opening a temporary FIFA Security Office for 12 months in Asia for the year 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.
- The AFC General Secretary Alex Soosay’s re-appointment for the 2011-2015 term was unanimously approved by the committee.
- The committee shared the concerns raised by the AFC Women’s Committee chairperson Moya Dodd over the hijab issue with FIFA Vice-President HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein advising that it would be best to brainstorm on the issue and come up with a solution that would address the matter worldwide.
- The resignation of DPR Korea’s female member Kim Sun Hui owing to personal reasons was also accepted with regret by the committee. She also resigned from her position as the Deputy Chairwoman of the AFC Women’s Committee.
- The committee decided to endorse Nepal as the hosts of the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 Finals. The All Nepal Football Association was advised to meet all the hosting criteria according to a deadline set by the administration.
- The date of the AFC Champions League Final (November 4 or 5) will be reviewed by the AFC Competitions Committee and a new date will be proposed if Al Ittihad of Jeddah reach the final because of logistical issues.
- The Executive Committee approved the formation of an Ad-hoc Committee to assess the current situation and advise and guide the AFC Acting President in the business of the confederation. The composition of the committee will be announced at a later date.
- The decisions taken by the AFC Standing Committees were ratified.