Unity and solidarity prevails at AFC Extraordinary Congress

Sao Paulo, June 9, 2014: The AFC Extraordinary Congress was proof of AFC’s unity and solidarity. The Congress approved the amendments to the AFC Statutes proposed by the AFC Member Associations relating to the formation of the Executive Committee. This amendment means that the individual elected as AFC President at the elective Congress in 2015 shall automatically assume the position of FIFA Vice-President.

AFC President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, is an elected FIFA Executive Committee member and his term will expire in 2017. The present FIFA Executive Committee members from Asia will maintain their positions until the AFC elections next year.

Shaikh Salman said: “Today, we have reached an important decision in the spirit of the AFC’s long-held tradition of democracy. We have decided that the seat of FIFA Vice-President should go to the AFC President. Our Member Associations believe that this is the right decision for our organisation.

The business here has been conducted positively, with great dignity and mutual respect and I am certain that we will move forward with this spirit of cooperation and unity.” The AFC President also thanked the members of the

AFC Executive Committee and the presidents and the delegates of the Member Associations for their support.
The decision to remerge the positions of AFC President and FIFA Vice-President has a historical reference – as this was already the case until 1990.

The Congress also approved the amendments to AFC Statutes proposed by the AFC Executive Committee to modernise the AFC Statutes and bring them in line with the FIFA Statutes prior to the elective Congress to be held in 2015. Approved amendments included statutory recognition of key governance mechanisms introduced in the previous year, such as the adoption of the AFC Electoral Code, the introductions of the AFC Code of Conduct, the formation of a dual-chamber Ethics Committee, and the implementation of AFC Internal Organisation Regulations.

The Congress further approved the proposal of the IR Iran Football Federation regarding the in-principle creation of a “Central” zone (Afghanistan, IR Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) which shall be recognised in the AFC Statutes. As a result, the “South & Central” zone shall be split into two zones. Accordingly, the AFC shall host an Extraordinary Congress in the period prior to the elective Congress in 2015 to determine the number of seats assigned to each zone on the AFC Executive Committee.

The AFC Extraordinary Congress was chaired by the AFC President in the presence of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and presidents of the confederations. Representatives from 46 AFC Member Associations attended the AFC Extraordinary Congress. —- AFC