October 11 – Fans attending today’s World Cup qualifier between Iran and South Korea in Tehran have been asked to replace traditional nationalist support with religious slogans because the match takes place on a holy day.
September 18 – The AFC Under 16 Champions kick off today in Goa, India, with four games including the hosts India against the United Arab Emirates at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, while current champions Australia will face Kyrgystan at the GMC Stadium.
September 12 – Brazilian-born Santos Monteiro Junior Wanderley’s lust for international football travel seems to have caught up with him and his latest club, UAE’s Al Nasr, with the club being forced to forfeit their AFC Champions League quarter-final first-leg match against Qatar’s El Jaish.
By Paul Nicholson
September 8 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has launched a new national team competition, the AFC Solidarity Cup, today in Kuala Lumpur. The first edition of the planned nine-team competition will be played this year in Malaysia, November 2-15.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 5 – In a bizarre case of possible deliberate deception, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have suspended United Arab Emirates-based Wanderley Santos Monteiro Junior for 60 days as they investigate whether the Brazilian-born forward has been using a forged Indonesian passport.
September 6 – Jordan, who are hosting the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup later this month, will become the first Middle East nation to host a senior Asian women’s football championship when it holds the next Women’s Asian Cup in 2018.
September 5 – Malaysia has stepped in at the last minute to host Syria’s World Cup qualification group match against the Korea Republic tonight. Syria were left homeless last week after Macau’s withdrawal citing security concerns.
September 2 – Asian qualifying for the Russia 2018 World Cup opened with all 12 teams in action and a shock 2-1 for the UAE over Japan. Australia and Saudi Arabia also had campaign opening wins in the group.
August 30 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken initial steps to develop the format of its AFC Cup competition with a series of meetings with clubs, leagues and national associations at the AFC HQ in Kuala Lumpur.
August 29 – Cambodian champions Phnom Penh Crown FC have won their appeal at the Court for Arbitraton for Sports (CAS) to be readmitted to the next qualifying stage of the 2017 AFC Cup, according to a report from the club. CAS have yet to release a statement.
August 9 – It is more common to see European clubs heading to the Middle East to train and play friendly matches than to see Middle Eastern club come to Europe to play competition. But that is what happened in West London last night when Fulham’s raven Cottage hosted the Saudi Super Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 2 – Israeli authorities have finally relented and reversed a ban on six Palestinian footballers after initially refusing them entry to the occupied West Bank to play the decisive second leg of the Palestine Cup final.
July 27 – With the AFC Futsal Club Championship having finished at the weekend with a climatic 6-5 win on penalties for Japan’s Nagoya Oceans over Iraq’s NAFIT Al-Wasat, the tournament stats have now been reported and show record breaking numbers for the Bangkok, Thailand, hosted event.
By Paul Nicholson
July 25 – The pre-season game between Manchester United and Manchester City in China, the first ever meeting of the two clubs outside England, has been called off after heavy rain has left the famous Bird’s Nest stadium pitch in Beijing unplayable.
July 18 – The AFC Futsal Club Championships have broken record attendance numbers in the first three days of competition in the Bangkok Arena, Thailand.
