June 30 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued a statement giving its backing to Qatar and pledging its support following the release of the Garcia report into the bidding for the 2018/2022 World Cups.
The AFC statement said: “The AFC is now looking forward to the continued preparation work to deliver a FIFA World Cup in 2022 which is a showcase not just for the game in Qatar but for football throughout Asia.
“The AFC will support Qatar throughout this process which will lead to a historic FIFA World Cup in 2022 – the first-ever in the Middle East and Arab World.”
Qatar is still working its way around the restrictions of the Saudi Arabia-led blockade of its borders which is now into its fourth week. So far it has had no impact on fixture scheduling with no Qatari teams currently left in the Champions League or Asian Cup final rounds. Indeed, it is unlikely the blockade would have prevented fixtures taking place unless against nations who are part of the blockade refused to play or accept neutral venues – a hypothetical point at this stage.
However, the AFC did write to its Member Associations on June 22 reiterating that all stakeholders involved in Asian football must respect the principle of political neutrality.
The AFC letter stressed that “the principle is a cornerstone of both the AFC and of the international sports movement, and is reflected in Article 3.2 of the AFC Statutes, which states: ‘the AFC is neutral in all matters of politics and religion’.”
The letter added: “The AFC calls on all stakeholders to respect these fundamental principles moving forward. In this regard, the AFC reiterates Article 6 of the Statutes, which states: “every person and organisation directly or indirectly bound by these statutes must observe these statutes and any regulations, directives, and decisions of the AFC.”
“The AFC will have no hesitation in initiating disciplinary action for any violation of its statutory objectives. Instructions will be provided to appointed AFC match officials to rigorously report any such violations.”
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