October 13 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has approved a major new infrastructure initiative aimed at closing the gap in football facilities across its member associations, as part of a wider $15.6 million development push for 2025.
At its latest Development Committee meeting in Saudi Arabia, chaired by Deputy Chairperson Valentino San Gil, the AFC unveiled the Equal Pitch Programme – a continent-wide plan to fund and standardise pitch infrastructure, with a particular focus on community and grassroots football.
The programme will support two main objectives: the construction of new 40×20 metre mini-pitches and the upgrading of existing full-size pitches to meet FIFA and AFC technical standards. Funding will be conditional on participating associations securing long-term land use rights – at least ten years – to ensure sustainable development.
While the AFC has long invested in grassroots football, the Equal Pitch Programme marks a more structured approach to tackling one of Asia’s biggest barriers to growth: inadequate or inconsistent playing surfaces. The policy also ties into the Confederation’s wider reforms to professionalise competitions and align facility standards across its expanding calendar.
The initiative sits alongside ongoing investments through the AFC Enhance Programme 2025, under which more than $15.6 million in funding has already been allocated to projects across 34 member associations and five regional bodies.
That pool encompasses $8.8 million through the Kick-Off, Pass, and Volley schemes; $3 million for stadium projects; and a further $2.2 million for Advantage and Extra-Time initiatives.
The Committee also endorsed regulatory revisions to the 2025–2028 Enhance Programme and received updates on the AFC’s League Development Programme and its expanding suite of executive education courses – part of its broader professionalisation strategy through the AFC Academic Centre of Excellence.
The AFC’s Executive Committee will now review and ratify the proposals, which, once approved, are expected to form a central plank of the Confederation’s long-term development model heading into the next World Cup cycle.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]
