April 28 – AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa told the 36th AFC Congress in Vancouver, Canada, that the proposed “changes to the global calendar in the coming years are in discussion”.
“We stand united with FIFA,” said Salman. “The AFC is already in the driving seat to adapt to change. Closing the host bidding for two Asian cups (2031 and 2035) was a step towards a greater synergy and discussion continues. Ultimately we want to ensure the best solution for the AFC.”
While at first glance the impression is that the AFC will likely move its flagship competition to accommodate FIFA’s suggestion, the reality is that there is still a long way to go and the underlying message from AFC insiders is that no-one should jump to conclusions just yet.
FIFA has been pressuring confederations to align their flagship men’s national team competitions into the same year to create an international calendar which will consolidate into a four-year cycle of FIFA men’s World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Confederation championship finals, and FIFA Women’s World Cup.
This would mean that the AFC Asian Cup, the Concacaf Gold Cup and CAF’s Africa Cup of Nations would all most likely align into the same quadrennial cycle, most likely from 2032.
The big winner would of course be FIFA as it would give commercial development space to its club World Cup and its growing Women’s World Cup free from competition for global sponsorship budgets.
The potential losers could be the confederations who suddenly find themselves in considerably more competitive media and sponsorship timeslots – there is only so much global sponsorship cash for major big ticket events.
The Asian Cup which has seen remarkable media and commercial growth since expanding to a 24-team competition in the UAE in 2019, is in reality still at the start of its growth curve with clear and obvious areas to increase revenue volume.
Going up against UEFA’s Euro championships would likely be a growth stunting experience.
Unsurprisingly CAF, the most compliant of the confederations when it comes to FIFA directives, were the first to agree to move their schedule. Concacaf have not yet committed to an immediate change but have announced their next W Gold Cup will be in the summer of 2031, which is when the men’s Gold Cup on its current schedule would be played, perhaps indicating a year and cycle change for the men’s edition.
The AFC reacted with caution last month to the FIFA proposals, but did discontinue the ongoing bidding processes for the hosting of the 2031 and 2035 Asian Cups, in order to reviews its international calendar.
“In principle, the AFC has taken note of this direction and will work towards aligning its competitions accordingly,” said the AFC in a statement last month.
However, it qualified this by saying in the same statement: “Given the far-reaching implications such a change would have on the scheduling and strategic planning of its premier national team competition, the AFC has initiated a broader review of its competitions calendar.”
Salman’s congress announcement is more of the same but it is clear, FIFA will have to come up with super-strong reasons for Asia to give up the unique position its blue riband competition is establishing.
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