Asian Football Confederation

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian and Australian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia which are instead members of Union of European Football Association (UEFA). The vision and mission of APC is

“Our continent must continue to be relevant and adapt to our new challenges. The new AFC Vision and Mission will provide clarity and fresh impetus to bring Asian football to even greater summits of excellence." by AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

One of FIFA's six continental confederations, the AFC was formed officially on 8 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the second Asian Games. The main headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The current president is Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain. The current AFC can be roughly divided into two major forces- West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) and East Asian Football Federation (EAFF). EAFF includes Japan, South Korea, Australia and China etc and WAFF includes Iraq, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Uzbekistan and United Arab Emirates. 

Although Asia has a large population and a large population, based on past traditional historical and cultural factors, compared to other continents, APC is passionate about football in the world. Also let the AFC member countries' overall football strength be better than Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), far worst than UEFA and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), also lose to Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and Confederation of African Football (CAF). There are also some major events have also severely hit the development of football in Asia. Therefore, in many major competitions, such as the Olympics and the World Cup, APC have not achieved satisfactory results.  

The AFC runs the AFC Asian Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup, which determine the Champions of Asia, as well as the AFC Solidarity Cup. All three competitions are held every four years. The AFC also organises the AFC Futsal Championship, AFC Beach Soccer Championship, various age-level international youth football tournaments and the Asian qualifying tournament for the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup and for football at the Summer Olympics.In addition to the AFC run international tournaments, each AFC regional federation organises its own tournament for national teams: EAFF East Asian Cup, SAFF Championship, AFF Championship, CAFA Championship and WAFF Championship. 

The AFC is now headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and consists of 46 Member Associations and one Associate Member Association (The Northern Mariana Islands). AFC had launched its Vision and Mission on January 28, 2016 in Doha, Qatar, setting out its ambitions of being the world’s leading Confederation as well as having more successful Asian teams on the world stage and confirming football as the number one sport in the continent.The new Vision and Mission tagline – One Asia, One Goal – signifies the core values of unity professionalism and leadership. In addition to developing and regulating the game, upholding the integrity and laws of the game, boosting grassroots and youth football and conducting top-level competitions, the AFC also works closely with its Member Associations and key stakeholders to bring to life its objectives under its Vision and Mission.

The AFC is now headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and consists of 46 Member Associations and one Associate Member Association (The Northern Mariana Islands). AFC had launched its Vision and Mission on January 28, 2016 in Doha, Qatar, setting out its ambitions of being the world’s leading Confederation as well as having more successful Asian teams on the world stage and confirming football as the number one sport in the continent.The new Vision and Mission tagline – One Asia, One Goal – signifies the core values of unity professionalism and leadership. In addition to developing and regulating the game, upholding the integrity and laws of the game, boosting grassroots and youth football and conducting top-level competitions, the AFC also works closely with its Member Associations and key stakeholders to bring to life its objectives under its Vision and Mission.