AFC confirms Yili as first Chinese global sponsor
July 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed dairy giant Yili as an Official Global Partner of the its national team competitions for the 2021 to 2024 rights cycle.
Asia
DAZN boosts football output in Japan with AFC Champions League deal
June 18 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has partnered with global sports streaming giants DAZN as the exclusive media rights partner in Japan to broadcast the next eight seasons of Asia’s flagship club competition, the Champions League.
Tear gas grenades fired by Israeli military interrupt Palestinian team training
May 10 – The Palestine national team had to move their training from outside to indoors last weekend after Israeli military fired tear gas grenades from the street outside their stadium.
Calendar clash forces Australia and Qatar out of guesting at Copa America
February 24 – Australia and Qatar, the two non-South American teams due to take part in this year’s Copa America, have pulled out of the competition – the oldest in international football – because of scheduling conflicts caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beitar sale to UAE investor looks shaky as financial probe raises issues
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – One of the most controversial takeovers in Middle East football has been dashed, at least temporarily, after the Israeli FA revealed that the sale of Beitar Jerusalem to Hamad bin Khalifa al-Nahyan, a distant member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, had been called off following a probe into his finances.
Persepolis and Ulsan Hyundai primed for Asian Champions League finale
December 17 – With the Champions League in Europe taking a break until February, all eyes are on the final of Asia’s equivalent competition on Saturday when South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai take on Iranian giants Persepolis in Qatar.
Chinese clubs show strong early form as AFC Champions League resumes in Qatar
November 23 – China’s Beijing FC and Shanghai SIPG have both made perfect starts in their group stages of the Asian Champions League in Qatar, where the remaining 40 matches of the East Zone matches will be played.
Sending a signal. CTV switches channels on Premier League as China-UK row heats up
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – The burgeoning political and diplomatic feud between Britain and China has spilled over into top-flight football with English Premier League games reported to have been pulled from Chinese state television (CTV).
AFC calls emergency meeting to discuss coronavirus action plan
February 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has called an emergency meeting of all its stakeholders – member associations, leagues, clubs and commercial parties – participating in the East Zone of the AFC Champions League to discuss the spread of the coronavirus.
Qatar’s Afif and Japan’s Kumagai take top AFC Awards
By Paul Nicholson in Hong Kong
December 2 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) crowned their top players and highest performing member associations at a glittering Hong Kong awards ceremony last night that fused modern and traditional Hong Kong with a celebration of the best of Asian football.
Argentina and Brazil to return to Saudi Arabia for ‘Riyadh Season’ festival
October 9 – Saudi Arabia will stage another high-profile friendly between Brazil and Argentina in November as part of the Riyadh Season, the country’s General Entertainment Authority, headed by Turki Al-Sheikh, announced.
Saudi’s Italian Super Cup games goes ahead. Women allowed in, broadcast partners left out
January 17 – Following weeks of protests over gender discrimination, thousands of women attended Wednesday night’s controversial Italian Supercup final between Juventus and AC Milan in Saudi Arabia – but all of them were reportedly chaperoned by men or accompanied by male children.
Egypt beats South Africa to hosting of AFCON 2019 finals
January 8 – Egypt has replaced Cameroon as hosts of this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today.
News analysis: US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar – a game with three goals
By Nigel Dudley
June 8 – President Trump hailed the decision by the Gulf states to isolate Qatar as the “end of terrorism” – and indeed was keen to take much of the credit himself.
AFC schedules Goa Congress as Salman pledges support to on-going reform
May 12 – The Asian Football Confederation have called an Extraordinary Congress to be held in Goa, India, on September 27 to elect its three additional members to the newly established FIFA Council, including the required female representative.