March 20 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has set up a second level of governance for its commercial rights sales tender that is currently in play for the two cycles between 2021 and 2028. The tender closes March 29.
External auditors Deloitte are overseeing the process and managing the process between the AFC administration and bidders. The AFC executive committee has said there will now also be oversight from an Independent Monitoring Group looking at the management and operation between the AFC administration and Deloitte.
This independent monitoring group will consist of a member from each of the AFC Audit and Compliance Committee, the AFC Finance Committee and, the AFC Marketing Committee.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “We have consistently promised that the AFC Executive Committee will be kept informed of all the major milestones and decisions to be taken in a process, which could secure the financial future of the organisation. We will deliver on that and I thank the Member Associations for their support.
“This is a busy and crucial year for the AFC as we will stage several major events – the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 between April 6-20, 2018; the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Draw on May 4, 2018 and then the AFC Congress to be held in Kuala Lumpur on October 31, 2018.
“The success of all these AFC events is crucial to the image, reputation and future viability of an organisation which has the stated aim of being a world leader among Confederations.
The next rights cycle is important for the AFC as it is the opportunity to break away from a long-standing but restrictive all-rights deal. The current rights holder is Lagardere Sport.
With media fragmenting and marketing becoming more targeted across new and engaged platforms, the AFC identified a need to have a more flexible approach to fund their rapidly growing competitions.
The total investment in Member Association services has risen from $17.366 million in the cycle from 2013 to 2016 to more than $39.091 million by 2018. The value in the new rights cycle is expected to reflect a rapidly expanding confederation and more than triple funds to fulfil that ambition and match market values.
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