Source: The-AFC.com

The AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee, which met under the chairmanship of Guam’s Richard Lai on the sidelines of AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 Japan, reorganised the futsal competitions calendar and decided to add women’s and under-21 tournaments to give a further boost to the development of the game in the continent.

After taking over the reins, AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa insisted on improving futsal standard in Asia and wished AFC to be the first FIFA confederation to start youth and women’s futsal competitions.

“I would like to congratulate all of you for your contributions in making futsal one of the rising sports in Asia,” Lai told the members.

“AFC U-21 Futsal Championship will provide a conducive environment for the growth of youth futsal players and assimilation into the senior national team set up thus enhancing and creating a pathway for futsal players development.

“We also cannot ignore the popularity of the game among women and the introduction of AFC Women’s Futsal Championship will encourage the development of Women’s Futsal in Asia.

The AFC President in his efforts to enhance competitions of all level would like to encourage all the Member Associations to widen the base of futsal players which in turn will benefit the national and club team.

The committee also decided to award the hosting rights of the AFC Futsal Championship 2014 to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which has also hosted the premier futsal competition edition in 2005.

The members also decided to include AFC Women’s Futsal Championship every four years to the calendar, starting from 2015, and AFC U-21 Futsal Championship from 2017 every two years. It has also decided to hold AFC Futsal Club Championship every two years from 2014 onwards to cater for the introduction of women’s and youth competition.

Ten countries will be invited to take part in the inaugural AFC Women’s Futsal Championship based on the rankings of the Asian Indoor Games 2009 and 2013.

It was also decided that AFC will provide technical and operational assistance for the fourth Asian Beach Games to be held in Phuket, Thailand, from November 14-21, 2014. Likewise, AFC will also organise FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers from 2015 onward.

All decisions of this committee need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee to take effect.





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