Itakura moves to Ajax

Sat, 09 Aug, 2025

Itakura moves to Ajax

Amsterdam: Japan defender Ko Itakura has signed for Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam from Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach, the Eredivisie outfit announced on Saturday.

The 28-year-old centre-half has joined on a four-year deal as he returns to the Netherlands having previously spent two seasons on loan with Groningen from Manchester City.

Koo: Football’s constant evolvement requires consistent hard work

Sat, 09 Aug, 2025

Koo: Football’s constant evolvement requires consistent hard work

Kuala Lumpur: Former Korea Republic captain Koo Ja-cheol knows what it takes to reach the summit of football and how to stay there.

A veteran of two FIFA World Cups and the AFC Asian Cup™ 2011 top scorer, the former midfielder’s footballing journey took him from Jeju to Germany, the Olympics podium and back again.

Now working as a youth adviser at Jeju United, Koo recently spoke with the-AFC.com, sharing insights on Korea Republic, the evolution of football and what separates world class players from the rest.

Group A: Cambodia 0-7 Thailand; Indonesia 0-7 Vietnam

Sat, 09 Aug, 2025

Group A: Cambodia 0-7 Thailand; Indonesia 0-7 Vietnam

Hai Phong: Thailand and Vietnam set up an exciting finale to Group A of the ASEAN Women’s Championship 2025 after registering their second successive wins on Saturday.

Both registered 7-0 wins, with Thailand defeating Cambodia while Vietnam beat Indonesia with the two sides to square off on Tuesday. 

#U20WAC Qualifiers: MD2 Results & Reports

Sat, 09 Aug, 2025

#U20WAC Qualifiers: MD2 Results & Reports

Kuala Lumpur: Matchday Two of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup™ Thailand 2026 Qualifiers concluded on Friday with all the qualifying slots still up for grabs.

The eight group winners and the overall three best runners-up will join hosts Thailand at next year's Finals, setting the stage for exciting matches across the continent in the final round of fixtures on Sunday.

Stay updated on the action with the-AFC.com.

Stage set for #ACLElite and #ACLTwo preliminary battles

Fri, 01 Aug, 2025

Stage set for #ACLElite and #ACLTwo preliminary battles

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Champions League Elite™ (ACL Elite) and AFC Champions League Two™ (ACL Two) will mark their return to action with the Preliminary Stage for the 2025/26 season, which gets underway on August 12 (Tuesday).

Four teams will vie for the two available League Stage berths in the ACL Elite while six contenders will do likewise for three Group Stage berths in the ACL Two, as confirmed by the finalised slot allocations in June.

Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Draw finalised

Thu, 07 Aug, 2025

Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Draw finalised

Kuala Lumpur: The 38 teams hoping to see action at the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026 learnt their respective qualifying routes on Thursday.

The Official Draw at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia saw the teams divided into seven groups — three of six teams each and four of five.

All group winners will progress to the 21st edition of the Finals, where they will join the nine AFC representatives from the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 who have automatically qualified, namely Qatar, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

The Qualifiers will be contested in a single round-robin centralised league format from November 22 to 30, 2025.