April 28 – In his address to Asia’s national associations at the 36th AFC Congress in Vancouver, Canada, AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa delivered a message praising their unity and resilience in the face of “the realities beyond football that weigh heavily on many in our Asian football family”.
He went on to deliver hard hitting messages of sticking to their core mission of developing football and maintaining their independence from outside political interference as they deliver their competitions amid “the global shifts and the uncertainty”.
Salman’s recognition of the resilience of the AFC’s member nations referenced the confederation’s delivery of a full complement of 16 AFC competitions over the year despite “the conflict affecting their regions” and the impact of the US war on Iran. Despite the US raining bombs on Iran and the retaliatory strikes from the Iranians in the Gulf, football continued to be played and ways were found to complete competitions. The completion of the final stages of the Champions League Elite last weekend with its centralised finish in Saudi Arabia being the highest profile example.
“In these challenging times, your commitment to keeping the beautiful game alive across our Continent has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Salman.
“Over the past year, you have shown the world the true meaning of resilience. The same resilience that saw Iraq qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. And Jordan and Uzbekistan qualify for first time.
“It is the same determination that enabled us to complete the AFC Champions League Elite just three days ago (in Saudi Arabia).”
While the achievements are significant Salman emphasised that “Despite the challenges around us, our mission remains the same: to build a brighter, more inclusive, and successful future for Asian football.”
Embedded in this future is the principle of independence and Salman again pledged the support of the AFC to the Palestinian FA in unequivocal terms.
“We must never forget the right for the Palestine FA to organise their own matches. You have our support…” he said.
With FIFA’s uncomfortably close love-in with the US administration and alignment with Donald Trump’s politics that have reigned chaos on so many of the AFC’s members, Salman also issued a timely reminder on the importance of football’s independence.
Our independence from interference is enshrined in our statutes. It is also enshrined in FIFA’s statutes.Our game is not a political tool for anyone’s agenda or personal advancement and never should be,” said Salman.
“This is core to our values and our integrity. It is also a core part of what makes our sport the common denominator for the world game and defines who we are as people, national associations and a confederation,” he continued.
“Our game is powerful because of the game itself that does not discriminate, exclude or take political sides. And, of course, because of the millions of people who play it. This is who we serve as administrators and we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of this.”
With FIFA’s uncomfortably close love-in with the US administration and alignment with Donald Trump’s politics that have reigned chaos on so many of the AFC’s members, Salman also issued a timely reminder on the importance of football’s independence.
Our independence from interference is enshrined in our statutes. It is also enshrined in FIFA’s statutes.Our game is not a political tool for anyone’s agenda or personal advancement and never should be,” said Salman.
“This is core to our values and our integrity. It is also a core part of what makes our sport the common denominator for the world game and defines who we are as people, national associations and a confederation,” he continued.
“Our game is powerful because of the game itself that does not discriminate, exclude or take political sides. And, of course, because of the millions of people who play it. This is who we serve as administrators and we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of this.”
Salman closed his address with a reminder of the scale of the Asian region and the core values of inclusivity and respect, values that he said makes them a ‘beacon for the rest of the world.
“The pureness, beauty and the core values of respect, inclusivity, and ultimately humility, have always been at the heart of the game and has defined its global growth and development,” he said.
“In Asia we are the most culturally diverse confederation of any in the world. We account for 60% of the world’s population. We must continue to embrace this and, yes, stay true to our mission of advancing the game for 60% of the world we recognise as our own.
“This is what we do every day and it is what makes us a collective beacon for the rest of the football world.”
In Asia those words were not lost on his membership. The question for many will be whether FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino who was in the audience and had been shown a big dose of ‘brotherly love’, was listening carefully.
Contact the writer of this story at power.l1777462162labto1777462162ofdlr1777462162late1777462162sni@n1777462162Donkeys1777462162eat.l1777462162uap1777462162
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