Chaired by Hamad Mohamed Aljneibi, the Task Force noted the incredible progress of the Club Licensing Regulations despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while recognising the need to introduce more progressive steps to enhance the professional development of clubs.

In a special video message to participants, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John, said: “The last time the People’s Republic of China hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2004, it was staged in just four cities. At the time, Asia’s top 16 teams competed in 32 matches, which is a stark difference to the 24 teams who will be competing across 51 matches in 2023.

The workshop, attended by 14 VIOs from nine Member Associations, was held to keep VIOs informed on the latest VAR developments as the VAR system will be implemented from the Quarter-final stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League.

The widely-acclaimed webinar, which was organised to further support the AFC MAs in resuming their domestic seasons, invited K League’s Head of Football Operations/Head of Strategic Planning & Development Park Seong-kyun to share their experiences on league preparation and operations in the new normal.

The achievement comes just weeks after launching its first edition of the CTFA Youth League, which comprises the U-15 and U-18 division.

The AFC’s National Team and Club competitions as well as the AFC Futsal Championship planned for Turkmenistan have been postponed since February and March but, thanks to the support of the Members, Leagues and Clubs, there is a determination to finish the competitions this year.

Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The AFC Administration has been in constant dialogue with our MAs, Leagues and Clubs in recent weeks so that we can establish a clear picture of the opportunities that exist in each MA.

“During those discussions which began in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai and Delhi in February and March, and have continued online ever since, we have looked to agree a calendar of matches that will allow us to complete both the club competitions and centralised tournaments in 2020.”

The calendar for the AFC Champions League 2020 will be:

A total of 36 representatives from 17 MAs and domestic leagues attended the webinar which covered details on the steps of how the K League became the first major competition in Asia to resume their league following the suspension in the middle of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among some of the topics discussed included match preparations and operations, handling of the international media attention and broadcasting coverage, fans engagement as well as other challenges.

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John opened the workshop with a welcome speech before the K League provided a comprehensive presentation on the restart of domestic football in the Korea Republic.