What Does AFC Stand For in Asian Football? | TheBestUKnow
AFC stands for the Asian Football Confederation. It is the governing body of Asian football, with 47 members. It also governs futsal and beach soccer. It is among the six federations that make up FIFA.
Formation of AFC
It was formed in 1954 in Manila and sanctioned by FIFA in Berne on Ju 21, 1954.
Now, the headquarters of the AFC is in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, with 47 member associations. Some of the countries are Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, and South Korea. These member associations are responsible for participating in AFC competitions as well as promoting and developing soccer in their respective countries.
The most crucial objective of the AFC is to develop and promote soccer in Asia at the club and national levels. The Asian Football Confederation organizes various competitions and tournaments to provide members with opportunities to compete with each other and show their talent throughout the year.
Prestigious AFC competitions
Some of the prestigious AFC competitions are:
- AFC Asian Cup
- AFC U-23 Championship
- AFC Champions League
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AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League is a significant competition that the AFC organizes. This club competition is held annually. In this, the top teams in Asian leagues compete for the “Best Club in Asia” title. This has a good following. Matches are broadcast globally.
What is the AFC Asian Cup?
The Confederation of Asian Football (AFC) organizes Asia’s most prestigious and established continental football competition. Copa America is the oldest, and the AFC Asian Cup is the second-oldest continental football championship in the world.
It features national teams across Asia that compete for the title of the best team on the continent. The winning team gets the title of champion of Asia and qualifies automatically for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
In addition, the AFC Asian Cup qualifies teams for the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup.
Current AFC Champion
Qatar defeated Japan 3-1 in the final and won their first title in 2019, held in the United Arab Emirates. So, the current champion is Qatar.
Japan is the most successful team in the history of the competition, having won four titles. Saudi Arabia and Iran won three each.
Is the Asia Cup held every four years?
Up until the 2004 championship in Mainland China, the Asian Cup took place once every four years in Hong Kong. However, the AFC preferred to shift its tournament to a less congested cycle since the Asian Cup was also planned to take place with the Summer Olympics and the European Football Tournament. The competition was held again in 2007 under the joint sponsorship of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam following its 2004 start. From then on, it has taken place every four years.
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Originally published at https://thebestuknow.com on November 20, 2023.