Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: China has won the AFC Fair Play Association of the Year award having accumulated more Fair Play points over the year than any other nation in the Confederation, with the East Asians amassing 606 points.
China's total was 97 points more than runners-up Japan while Korea Republic were third with 507 points.
Fair Play points are given to all national and club teams participating in AFC competitions. Points are awarded for positive play, conduct on and off the field and the behaviour of supporters at the stadium and deducted for the number of red and yellow cards received in a match.
“This award is very important for us because ‘Fair Play’ is one of the top priorities set by the Chinese Football Association,” said CFA Vice-President Lin Xiao Hua after receiving the prestigious accolade from AFC Vice President Zhang Jilong.
“We have formed a working committee consisting of judicial bodies, referees, and other relevant football officials and the work of this committee is to visit all the professional clubs and educate the officials and players on their roles and responsibilities.
“This award came in a right time as it will encourage us more in the future. We had not won this award for several years and there has always been a great yearning for the award and finally we landed it. It’s a matter of prestige to be the ‘Fair Play’ nation of Asia.
“This year, we celebrated the FIFA Fair Play Day in September with several awareness programme throughout the country. So our focus on playing fair is not only on the national team but we are equally concerned about the ‘Fair Play’ in grassroots level, amateur football and our professional clubs.”