The AFC Technical Committee, at their first meeting of the 2019-2023 cycle chaired by Kohzo Tashima in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, recognised the need to maintain the highest standards in women’s football, where Asia has long been successful.

After the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, where Australia, China PR and Japan were eliminated at the Round of 16 stage, the AFC decided that there was a need to focus on producing a strategy document to develop the women’s game in Asia between 2020 and 2023.

It was acknowledged that there was a requirement to not only close the gap in standards between the top Asian teams and the top countries in the world but also to raise the level of play in Asian women’s football.

The NMI Football Association submitted their application following the amendment of the AFC Statutes at the 29th AFC Congress, held in Kuala Lumpur on April 6, 2019.

A delegation from the AFC, including a committee member, conducted an assessment of the application in September 2019 and confirmed that the requirements for ordinary membership have been fulfilled by the NMI Football Association.

Chaired by Mr. Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar, the Committee recognised the importance for Member Associations to develop their digital media capabilities to better engage with Asia’s passionate fans and to grow the reach of the game, as outlined in the AFC’s Vision.

The Committee approved for the AFC to develop an over-arching strategy and embark on a digital audit process to help MAs understand their digital performance and share best practice as well as provide the appropriate digital support to accelerate the rising standards.

To help Member Associations develop in this crucial area, it was agreed that the AFC will commence a pilot programme with Member Associations from each of the five AFC regions.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who opened the meeting chaired by Dasho Ugen Tsechup, said: “The AFC is extremely proud of our new commercial partnership with DDMC Fortis, which was conducted with utmost professionalism.

"Our ambition is to ensure our Member Associations take full advantage of the commercial opportunities in the coming years to bring about positive change.

“We have seen many Member Associations make remarkable strides, but we want to do more, we want to be a leading Confederation and I am confident that this Committee will play a crucial role in carrying out our ambitions.”

The Committee, chaired by Mahfuza Ahkter Kiron, met ahead of Saturday’s AFC U-16 Women’s Championship Thailand 2019 final, which will see DPR Korea compete against Japan in Chonburi.

Following their 2018 recommendation of the establishment of an AFC women’s club competition, the Committee agreed on a series of competition regulations, with the pilot edition, set to involve the champion clubs from four Member Associations - Australia, China PR, Japan and Korea Republic - to be staged on a round-robin basis from November 26 to 30, 2019.

The agreement follows a process involving the input of both the AFC Technical Division and AFC Competitions Department, with the AFC Women’s Club Championship considered a vital step forward in women’s club football throughout the Continent.

At the second AFC Executive Committee meeting of the 2019-2023 cycle, chaired by longest-serving AFC Vice President and FIFA Council member, Saoud Al Mohannadi, in the absence of President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, it was decided to grow the two competitions.

From the 2021 season, the AFC Champions League will be expanded to 40 clubs with an extra group of four being added in both the East and West zones and further growing the reputation of one of the richest Continental club competitions in the world.

In his opening remarks, Chairperson H.E. Du Zhaocai paid tribute to the Continent’s officials, noting their commendable performance and achievements on the world’s biggest stages.

He said: “Referee development is a key focus for the AFC and Asian referees are already world-class. Our role in this Committee is to ensure our officials continue to improve.

“We must increase the elite referees and raise the overall standards in Asia and to achieve this, we must give our Member Associations the best chance to succeed.”

Strengthening the foundations for its Member Associations, the Committee were updated on the progress of the AFC Referee Academy, which is already making a significant impact on expanding the AFC’s talent pool, with as many as seven officials registered on the FIFA International list since its launch in November 2017.

The Committee also noted the highly successful implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, introduced for the first time from the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, which also saw a record of 60 match officials appointed for the competition. From a total of 81 checks and six reviews, the VAR system improved the accuracy of decision-making by 4.9 percent

As part of efforts to raise the competency standards of fitness instructors across the Continent, the Committee agreed to accredit top fitness instructors, which will ensure a more stringent and comprehensive selection process while raising the quality and level of consistency.

Moving forward, the Committee agreed that only certified fitness instructors will be appointed to the AFC’s refereeing development activities and competitions.

Members also approved the recommendation to re-designate the current AFC certified Referee Instructors as Elite Referee Instructors, recognising their role and status within the AFC’s Referee Instructors panel.