The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee agreed at its meeting in New Delhi today to increase rewards in the two AFC flagship club competitions, as well as investing heavily in Member Association development.
The AFC Executive Committee also endorsed and adopted the initial recommendations of the Governance Review Task Force, which followed up on previous governance recommendations and is reviewing the governance situation at the AFC.
There was also overwhelming support for AFC President Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in his campaign to become the next FIFA President (see separate release).
Dato’ Windsor John, who has been Acting General Secretary since May this year, was also appointed to the role of General Secretary on a permanent basis. This appointment follows a series of high-level Director and staff appointments in key areas such as Technical, Finance, Communications, Refereeing, Development and Strategy.
Increased financial investment
Prize money for the teams reaching the finals of both the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup will double from the 2016 season and there will be significant increases for the sides who reach the knock-out phases. This follows recommendations from the Finance and Competitions Committees which met yesterday.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The AFC wants to reward success.
“This increase in prize money from greater than expected financial revenues will make the AFC Champions League, already breaking records for television viewers and ground attendances, even more fiercely contested. This year we have seen a record 2.28m supporters pass through the gates and more than 260m people tune into the competition on television.
“The higher prize money will also increase the appeal of the AFC Cup, which continues to provide an excellent platform and intense competition for clubs from 23 Member Associations and this year, for the first time, had a winner from ASEAN in Johor Darul Ta’zim.”
The AFC Executive Committee also approved a further recommendation from the Finance Committee to increase the financial support for hosting AFC competitions in order to encourage as many Member Associations as possible to bid for tournaments – particularly age group events.
There was also backing for increased investment in Member Association development to help raise technical standards, as well as improve refereeing, with a referees academy proposed.
Governance review
Regarding the Governance Review Task Force whose initial recommendations were unanimously accepted by the AFC Executive Committee, AFC President Shaikh Salman said: “When I became President in 2013 I wrote to all the Member Associations stressing the huge importance that the AFC leadership implement, together with its Members, the appropriate measures of governance, audit and compliance.
“I recommended the setting up of the task force whose initial findings the Executive Committee heard today. I must thank all the members for their contribution to this crucial report which shows that the AFC has moved on from the past and helps start to set the strongest of foundations for the AFC in the coming years.
“In the last two years we have seen the recruitment of a new, energised, motivated and highly professional executive for the AFC which will now be under the permanent direction of the outstanding General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John. The AFC’s future is extremely bright.”
The findings of the Governance Reform Task Force covered areas such as the AFC Strategic Plan; policies and procedures for HR, Finance and Procurement; Enterprise Risk Management Framework; Whistle blower policy; Enhanced internal audit; formalisation of the powers, responsibilities and authority of the standing committees; establishment of an Ethics Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee; Staggered Executive Committee tenures; and due diligence policies and procedures to assess credit, bribery and corruption risk.
The Executive Committee decided to extend the remit of the Governance Reform Task Force into 2016 while they consider additional recommendations for the organisation.
There was also further constructive discussion around the AFC’s Strategic Plan, Vision and Mission following the invitation to the Member Associations and other key stakeholders to submit their thoughts on the future direction of football in Asia.
In a further review of the AFC procedures the Executive Committee approved recommendations from the Legal Committee, which also met in New Delhi, to refresh the AFC Disciplinary Code.
The amendments mirror the latest Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and AFC jurisprudence. The aim of the proposals, which were recommended by an eminent Disciplinary Task Force, were for an amended code which will offer protection of anonymous witnesses and an introduction of a number of new offences.
