Asian Football Confederation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Asian Football Confederation

Logo used since 2001
AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abbreviation	AFC
Formation	7 May 1954; 71 years ago (1954-05-07)
Founded at	Manila, Philippines
Type	Sports organisation
Headquarters	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Region served	Asia
Membership	47 member associations
Official language	Arabic English
President	Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa
Vice Presidents	See list • Alireza Bageri Susisboxor (SAFF) • Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar (EAFF) • Mehdi Taj (CAFA) • Saoud Al-Mohannadi (WAFF) • Zaw Zaw (AFF)
General Secretary	Windsor John
Parent organization	FIFA
Subsidiaries	AFF (Southeast Asia) CAFA (Central Asia) EAFF (East Asia) SAFF (South Asia) WAFF (Western Asia)

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the main group that runs association football (soccer), beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and areas in Asia. The AFC was started in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) used to be a separate group that managed women's association football in Asia. It was founded in April 1968 by countries like Taiwan, British Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. In 1986, the ALFC joined with the AFC.

Member Associations

AFC regional federations

The AFC has 47 member countries. These countries are divided into 5 main regions: West, Central, South, East, and South-east (which includes ASEAN countries).

Some of the countries that helped start the AFC were Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Republic of China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Former Members

Some countries used to be part of the AFC but later joined other football groups:

• Israel (1954–1974): They were removed from AFC events in 1974. Later, they became a full member of UEFA (the European football group) in 1994.
• New Zealand (1964): They helped start the OFC in 1966.
• South Yemen (1972–1990): This country later joined with North Yemen to form Yemen.
• Kazakhstan (1993–2002): They joined UEFA in 2002.

Competitions

The AFC organizes many exciting football tournaments for both national teams and clubs.

National Team Competitions

The AFC runs major tournaments like the AFC Asian Cup for men and the AFC Women's Asian Cup for women. These big events happen every four years.

They also organize:

• Younger age-group tournaments for boys and girls, such as the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, AFC U-20 Asian Cup, and AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
• Football tournaments at the Asian Games and Asian Youth Games.
• Competitions for futsal (a type of indoor football) like the AFC Futsal Asian Cup and AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup.
• Beach soccer tournaments, including the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup.
• Qualifying tournaments for the FIFA World Cup and for football at the Summer Olympics.
• Even Esports competitions like the AFC eAsian Cup.

Club Competitions

For football clubs, the top tournament is the AFC Champions League. It started in 2002–03 and brings together the best teams from different countries in Asia. The number of teams from each country depends on how well that country's clubs have performed.

There's also a second, slightly lower-ranked tournament called the AFC Cup, which began in 2004. For futsal clubs, the AFC organizes the AFC Futsal Club Championship every year. For women's clubs, there is the AFC Women's Club Championship.

Current Champions

Here are some of the most recent winners of AFC tournaments:

• AFC Asian Cup: Qatar  (2023)
• AFC Women's Asian Cup: China  (2022)
• AFC Champions League: Urawa Red Diamonds (2022)
• AFC Cup: Central Coast Mariners (2023–24)
• AFC Futsal Asian Cup: Iran  (2024)
• AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup: Iran  (2023)
• AFC eAsian Cup: (2023)

Defunct Tournaments

Some tournaments that the AFC used to run are no longer active. These include:

• National teams: AFC Solidarity Cup, AFC Challenge Cup, Afro-Asian Cup of Nations.
• Clubs: Asian Cup Winners' Cup, Asian Super Cup, AFC President's Cup.

Rankings

The AFC also tracks how well national teams and clubs are doing.

FIFA World Rankings (Men's)

These rankings show how strong men's national teams are compared to others in the world. The top AFC teams often include:

•  Japan
•  Iran
•  Australia
•  South Korea

FIFA Women's World Rankings

These rankings show how strong women's national teams are globally. The top AFC teams often include:

•  Japan
•  North Korea
•  Australia
•  China

Club Competitions Ranking

This ranking shows how well clubs from each AFC member country perform in AFC club tournaments. The top countries usually have strong clubs that do well in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup. Some of the highest-ranked countries are:

•  Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia)
•  Japan (Japan)
•  South Korea (South Korea)
•  Qatar (Qatar)
•  Iran (Iran)

Tournament Record

Here's a quick look at how Asian teams have done in some major international tournaments.

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest football tournament in the world. Many Asian teams have worked hard to qualify and represent their continent.

• South Korea has qualified 11 times, reaching the semi-finals (4th place) when they co-hosted in 2002.
• Japan has qualified 7 times, reaching the Round of 16 multiple times.
• Iran and Saudi Arabia have both qualified 6 times.
• Australia has qualified 4 times as an AFC member (and 2 times as an OFC member before joining AFC).
• Other Asian teams that have qualified include North Korea, Qatar (as hosts), China, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Indonesia, and Israel (when they were an AFC member).

AFC Asian Cup

This is the main men's national team tournament in Asia.

• Iran has won the Asian Cup 3 times.
• South Korea has won it 2 times.
• Saudi Arabia has won it 3 times.
• Japan has won it 4 times, making them the most successful team.
• Qatar won it in 2019 and 2023.
• Australia won it in 2015.

FIFA Women's World Cup

This is the biggest women's football tournament in the world.

• Japan won the Women's World Cup in 2011 and were runners-up in 2015. They have qualified 9 times.
• China were runners-up in 1999 and have qualified 8 times.
• Australia reached the semi-finals (4th place) as hosts in 2023 and have qualified 5 times as an AFC member.
• South Korea and North Korea have also qualified multiple times.

Olympic Games (Men's Tournament)

Asian teams compete in the football tournament at the Summer Olympics.

• Japan has participated 12 times, reaching the semi-finals (4th place) twice.
• South Korea has participated 11 times, winning a bronze medal in 2012.
• Other Asian teams like Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, and China have also participated.

Olympic Games (Women's Tournament)

• Japan has participated 6 times, winning a silver medal in 2012 and reaching the semi-finals (4th place) in 2008.
• China has participated 6 times, winning a silver medal in 1996.
• Australia has participated 3 times as an AFC member, reaching the semi-finals (4th place) in 2020.
• North Korea has also participated.

Images for kids

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  Logo used since 2001

• 

  AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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  Map of AFC member associations

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  AFC regional federations

See Also

In Spanish: Confederación Asiática de Fútbol para niños

• AFC Annual Awards
• List of presidents of AFC
• International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)
  • Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
  • Confederation of African Football (CAF)
  • Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
  • Confederation of South American Football (CONMEBOL)
  • Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
• List of association football competitions