Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: The AFC Special Mission Team’s (SMT) Inspection and Club Licensing Spot Check 2012 concluded on Thursday with all parties expressing agreement that Uzbek professional football has great potential to develop further.
A meeting was held between the AFC, Uzbekistan Football Federation (UFF) and Professional Football League delegations to discuss findings of the eight-day visit, followed by a press conference and documents signing ceremony.
UFF General Secretary Sardor Rakhmatullaev, PFL Director General Magametov Farkhod Abdualievich and AFC Club Competitions Director Stuart Ramalingam were the top officials present during the events.
Ramalingam, who led the SMT, thanked all Uzbek football stakeholders for their cooperation during the visit and expressed his opinion about the direction the Uzbek game is going.
“I am glad to have had a successful SMT visit here,” he said. “We can see the FA and league and all the clubs are trying very hard to improve their game, administration and youth development.
“Especially their effort in youth development was very impressive to us. I think this effort will be bear fruits in the near future. I think the future of Uzbek football is bright.
“We see great potential in Uzbek football.”
Important criteria -- technical standard, attendance, governance soundness, marketing/promotions, business scale, game operation, media, stadiums, clubs and logistical infrastructure -- were taken into account to assess the eligibility of clubs for the continent's premier club competition. Two-way sharing of experience was also on the agenda of the SMT's visit.
Rakhmatullaev shared Ramalingam’s opinion and attributed football’s development to the cooperation from the government and between the FA and league.
“On behalf of UFF, we would like to welcome the AFC Special Mission Team again,” he said.
“I think this inspection was very meaningful to us. I also hope all the points (for improvement) were effectively discussed during the closing meeting.
“I am sure Uzbek football is growing fast. Especially our club football has been developing very fast in the last few years thanks to the full support from the government and good relationship between the FA and league.”
The SMT carries out its inspection visits from February to October with the deadline for the clubs to meet all criteria being in October, whereupon the AFC RSS Unit will make further assessments from October until November.
A Joint Meeting will then be held to recommend the clubs that will take part in the ACL, before the AFC Competitions Committee makes its decision which will be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee in November.