Asian Football Confederation

The AFC is recognized by FIFA as the continental confederation responsible for organized football in Asia and is registered as a legal entity under Malaysian law.[6] Its 2026 Statutes establish English and Arabic as official languages and identify Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa as President and Datuk Seri Windsor John as General Secretary.[6]

The confederation's 47 member associations are distributed across five geographic zones: West Asia (12), ASEAN (12), East Asia (10), South Asia (7), and Central Asia (6).[6] Membership is divided into Ordinary and Associate categories; Associate members may not vote at Congress, nominate candidates for AFC bodies, receive development-programme funding, or participate in FIFA final competitions unless FIFA rules specifically permit it.[6]

By at least 1996, FIFA statutes required every national association to belong to one of the six continental confederations before gaining FIFA membership.[3] The confederations were each governed by their own congress, general secretariat, executive committee, and standing committees, and they supplied vice presidents and ordinary members who helped govern FIFA itself.[3]

The AFC was formed on May 8, 1954, in Manila, making it the second continental soccer confederation established after UEFA during FIFA's creation of its confederation structure.[1][7] One AFC historical account lists 13 founding members — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and South Vietnam — while a separate AFC account places the founding group at 12.[1][8] The 13-member list includes the Israeli Football Association, but an official UEFA timeline instead says Israel was admitted to the AFC in 1956.[1][4]

The inaugural AFC Asian Cup was held in Hong Kong roughly two years after the confederation's formation. One AFC account records that four founding members reached the finals, with Korea Republic becoming the first Asian champion after defeating Israel and South Vietnam; a second AFC account states that eight member associations competed in the first edition.[1][8] These two accounts differ on the number of participants, though both agree on Hong Kong as the host and Korea Republic as champion.

The AFC's secretariat moved from Hong Kong to Penang, Malaysia, in 1965, then to the Football Association of Malaysia building in Kuala Lumpur in 1978, and subsequently to the Olympic Council of Malaysia office in 1995.[9] Following a 1994 Congress decision and the acquisition of a site at Bukit Jalil in 1997, construction of AFC House was completed on May 17, 2000.[9] An expanded new building at AFC House was officially inaugurated on October 28, 2021, by AFC President Shaikh Salman and FIFA President Gianni Infantino; the expansion added 200,000 square feet and was financed through the FIFA Forward fund.[9]

The AFC Congress is the confederation's supreme and legislative authority. Each Ordinary Member Association holds one vote and may send up to three delegates; Associate Member Associations may attend but cannot vote.[6] The Ordinary Congress meets annually and is responsible for electing the Executive Committee, approving financial statements and the budget, adopting the activity report, and deciding on membership matters and statutory amendments.[6]

The Executive Committee consists of 30 members: the President, five zonal Vice Presidents, six FIFA Council members, five female Executive Committee members, nine additional members, and five Regional Association representatives. One of the six FIFA Council members is also counted among the five female members.[6] Members serve four-year terms and may be re-elected; the committee meets at least twice a year and determines which official competitions the AFC organises.[6]

The AFC's statutory objectives span a broad range of football administration and development. They include promoting, regulating, and controlling football in Asia; organising and managing international competitions; developing youth and women's football; ensuring access regardless of gender or age; safeguarding member associations; promoting integrity, ethics, and fair play; and combating corruption, doping, match manipulation, bribery, drugs, and racism. The statutes also commit the confederation to settling disputes, redistributing football revenue on solidarity principles, growing the Asian fan base, and regulating football esports.[6]

FIFA statutes required continental confederations including the AFC to comply with and enforce FIFA rules, work with FIFA to further its objectives, organize international competitions, supply representatives to FIFA governance bodies, and carry out FIFA directives at the regional level.[3] FIFA also helped finance confederations and their member associations through programs including the Financial Assistance Program and the Goal Program.[3]

The AFC Asian Cup is the confederation's flagship competition for men's national teams, and the AFC Women's Asian Cup serves the equivalent role for women's football.[2] The AFC Champions League is described as the premier competition for Asian club sides.[2] The confederation also administers World Cup qualifying across the continent, which different confederations conduct using different formats.[3]

Saudi Arabia was awarded hosting rights for the 2027 Asian Cup at the 33rd AFC Congress held in Bahrain on February 1, 2023, receiving 43 of 45 federation votes.[10] Palestine and Turkmenistan did not participate in the vote; Palestinian Football Federation officials explained that their representative was outside the hall when voting commenced and that the voting apparatus was closed before he could cast a ballot.[10]

Beyond its own competitions, the AFC has participated in broader Asian sporting administration. In 2018, it conducted a limited redraw at its Kuala Lumpur headquarters to add the United Arab Emirates and Palestine to the Asian Games football tournament alongside 24 other teams, acting on behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Indonesian organizing committee rather than as the competition's organiser.[11]

The AFC launched a formal Vision and Mission statement on January 28, 2016, in Doha, Qatar, articulating ambitions to become the world's leading confederation, achieve greater success for Asian teams globally, and establish football as the leading sport in Asia — objectives underpinned by the values of unity, professionalism, and leadership.[2]

An AFC historical account lists the Israeli Football Association among the confederation's 13 founding members in 1954, although UEFA's official association timeline dates Israel's admission to 1956.[1][4] During the 1958 World Cup qualifying cycle, Israel won its qualifying group in the African and Asian zone without playing a single match, after Turkey, Indonesia, and Sudan all withdrew for political reasons.[12]

Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, which opened on May 26; an Israeli government publication described the event as another link in the "friendly chain" connecting Asian nations with Israel.[4][13] The competition had been reduced to four teams — Israel, India, South Korea, and Hong Kong — after several predominantly Muslim AFC members withdrew or boycotted the edition.[12] The Asian Cup trophy had been donated by Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who also served as president of the AFC.[13]

Before the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, North Korea was removed from Asian qualifying after refusing to play matches in Israel; Israel advanced to the final round by winning two matches against New Zealand and ultimately qualified for the tournament — its only World Cup appearance to date.[5] Four years later, a Kuwait-led resolution effectively ejected Israel from the confederation. The measure passed 17 in favor to 13 against, with six abstentions, after years in which Arab-led boycotts had affected matches involving Israel.[5]

A 1986 Jerusalem Post report noted that Israel had been banned from both the Asian and African soccer confederations, with the Asian ban recorded as being in effect since 1976, leaving Israel dependent on friendly matches for top-level international competition.[14] An Irish Football Association proposal to admit Israel to the European Nations Cup was not voted on by UEFA, which was awaiting revisions to FIFA statutes that might allow Israel to join a continental confederation.[14] That same Congress opened a narrow path for Israeli under-16 players to participate in international competitions and suggested that FIFA assign the Israeli under-16 team to a continental confederation.[14]

After years in confederation limbo, Israel played in Oceania qualifying zones for the 1986 and 1990 World Cups before moving to the European grouping in 1991.[5] UEFA's official timeline records that the Israeli Football Association became a full member in 1994, and a 2026 Jerusalem Post report described Israel as the only non-European country seeking World Cup qualification through UEFA.[4][5]

The political tensions surrounding the AFC did not end with Israel's departure. Around 2013, FIFA President Sepp Blatter established a task force to examine complaints raised by the Palestine Football Association; the group included Blatter, the heads of both the Israeli and Palestinian soccer associations, and the heads of the European and Asian confederations.[15]

A 2026 FDD report stated that Mohammed Khattab, a FIFA assistant referee, had also served as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad platoon commander and was killed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah in February 2024. It reported that the AFC and FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed condolences after his death and that Palestinian Islamic Jihad acknowledged his death in June 2026.[16]