Asian Football Weekly – December 4-11

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Here are the top stories in the Asian football industry over the past week.

Qatar to participate in UEFA Qualifying Group for 2022 World Cup

Hosts of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar, will be placed in Group A of the UEFA Qualifying Group which begins in March of next year.

“Qatar will join Group A alongside Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan,” the Qatar Football Association (QFA) said in a statement.

“As the next FIFA World Cup host nation, Qatar has already qualified for the tournament -meaning any results involving Qatar will not count towards qualification.

“Qatar will play its ‘home’ matches in Europe in order to allow short travel times for their opponents,” the QFA concluded.

Qatar will play the side with a rest day in each round of matches.

The decision was made on the basis that it would give the Asian country match preparation for the upcoming World Cup in November, 2022.

The Maroons have previously joined competitions that are staged outside of their own federation (AFC), including the Copa America last year.

Migu to share 2022 World Cup rights with CCTV

Migu, a subsidiary of Chinese telecommunications group China Mobile, has secured a deal to share the rights to air live and on-demand coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The streaming platform will share the digital coverage of events with Chinese broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), with Migu having also struck a sub-licensed deal with the company to show next year’s UEFA EURO tournament.

The acquisition of the rights continues the company’s recent strategic investment into sporting content.

Last month, Migu signed a four-year deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which includes the right to showcase the 2023 Asian Cup, the 2022 World Qualifiers, the AFC Champions League and more on their streaming service.

A similar sub-licensing deal between Migu and CCTV was organised for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Northern Mariana Islands become 47th full Member Association of the AFC

During the AFC Congress held during the week, Northern Mariana Islands were voted in as a full member of the Asian Football Confederation.

President of the AFC, Shaikh Salman, stated at the congress: “We are proud to welcome the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association as the newest ordinary member of the AFC family. Under the leadership of NMIFA President Jerry Tan, I have no doubts that the game will continue to scale greater heights.”

AFC competitions to be broadcast for the first-time in South Eastern Europe

The AFC announced throughout the week that United Media Sàrl will be their new media partner in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2021-2024.

The deal will cover the AFC’s major national team and club competitions such as the Champions League and the 2023 Asian Cup.

United Media Sàrl is part of the United Media Group, which is a leading media company in South Eastern Europe.

The company’s Sportklub channels will showcase the wide selection of Asian matches.

Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said of the deal: “We are pleased with this exclusive partnership which brings the AFC Competitions to Southeast Europe for the first time. We are confident that Sportklub will bring AFC competitions closer to millions of fans in the region. This deal demonstrates the value of the AFC’s competitions not only in Asia but beyond and we thank United Media Sàrl for the confidence they show in the future of Asian football by entering into this agreement.”

Nemanja Simeunovic, CEO of the Sportklub channel operation stated: “I am enthusiastic about the addition of the AFC competitions to our portfolio of rights. The AFC competitions will fit perfectly in the outstanding programme line up within the three main pillars of programming: football, basketball and tennis.

“The AFC competitions will be taken very seriously as all our programmes have extensive promotion, professional and sports-fanatic commentators with fantastic news studios several times per day.”

Patrick Murphy, Board Member and CEO at Football Marketing Asia, said: “We are delighted to bring in United Media Sàrl as another valued media partner in Europe. We are confident that United Media Sàrl will further strengthen the presence of high-quality Asian football in Europe with its partner’s top-notched services.”

 

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NSW Football Associations Unite Behind AED Mapping Project for Statewide Safety Network

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Twelve football associations across New South Wales have joined a statewide effort to map and register Automated External Defibrillators across sporting facilities, in a project that its organisers say will significantly improve emergency response times and save lives at community sport venues.

The Heartbeat of Sport AED Mapping Project, backed by funding from the Minns Labor Government to the Heartbeat of Football Foundation, represents the first comprehensive research into AED placement across NSW sports grounds. The data collected will be provided to NSW Ambulance and its GoodSAM team to enrich the existing AED registry available to ambulance and public first responders, and will feed into NSW Health’s newly released public AED map.

The project has drawn active participation from associations spanning the breadth of the state’s football community, including Eastern Suburbs, Manly Warringah, Granville, Southern Districts, Nepean, Northern Suburbs, Football Canterbury, Bankstown, Hills, Sutherland Shire, North West Sydney Football and Football South Coast.

When seconds matter

The urgency behind the project is not theoretical. At Doyalson Wyee Football Club, a 70-year-old player survived a sudden on-field cardiac arrest because an AED was available on site. The outcome of that incident – and the many others like it that occur across community sport each year – depends entirely on whether a defibrillator is accessible, charged and registered in the systems that emergency responders rely upon.

Sudden cardiac arrest kills without warning. The survival rate drops by approximately ten percent for every minute without defibrillation. In a community sport setting, where professional medical staff are rarely present, a registered and accessible AED is the difference between a player walking off a pitch and one who does not.

The mapping project addresses a gap that has existed largely unexamined. More than 2,400 defibrillators have been deployed across NSW sports and recreation facilities through the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, with grants of up to $3,000 available to eligible organisations. But a device that exists without being registered in emergency response systems provides significantly less value than one that is accurately mapped and immediately locatable by ambulance crews responding to a call.

By encouraging clubs to complete AED registration surveys, the twelve participating associations are ensuring that the equipment already on their grounds is activated within the broader emergency infrastructure – translating a physical asset into a functional one.

Regional communities and the equity of safety

The project’s expansion of the #HeartHealthMatters Program, which brings CPR and AED familiarisation training to sporting organisations with a particular focus on regional areas, addresses a dimension of safety preparedness that often receives less attention than equipment access alone.

Knowing a defibrillator exists on site is insufficient if the people present during an emergency do not know how to use it. Regional clubs, which frequently operate with smaller volunteer bases and less access to formal training programs, face a compounded risk – less equipment, less training, and longer ambulance response times due to geography. The program’s regional focus acknowledges that safety infrastructure, like sporting infrastructure more broadly, is not evenly distributed.

The data gathered through the mapping project will also guide future investment decisions, identifying facilities that still lack AEDs and providing the evidence base for targeted grant funding to address those gaps.

Football associations that have already contributed AED data have demonstrated, in the words of the project’s organisers, strong sector leadership and a shared commitment to safeguarding participants at every level of the game.

For a sport that involves hundreds of thousands of players, officials and volunteers across the state each week, the ambition of the Heartbeat of Sport project is straightforward – that no preventable death occurs on a football ground because the right equipment was not there, or could not be found.

Decision overturned: FIFA World Cup 2026 to return to Federation Square

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Following the announcement earlier this week that Federation Square would not return as a live site for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, Football Victoria announced yesterday that the decision has now been overturned.

Widespread support prevails

The football industry moves swiftly. Whether it’s a deadline-day transfer or cut-throat managerial changes, a lot can happen in a short time span.

And this proved true once again in Melbourne this week.

On Wednesday, Melbourne Arts Precinct announced that it will not proceed as a live site during this year’s tournament.

But following widespread backlash to the decision to not use Federation Square as a live site, the initial verdict will no longer go ahead.

“In the past 24 hours, Victorians demonstrated just how important our national teams are to the fabric of our community,” said Football Victoria CEO, Dan Birrell, via press release.

Furthermore, Birrell highlighted that support for a swift overturn also came from those outside the football landscape.

“The response extended far beyond football participants and supporters, reflecting the wider community’s recognition of the signficance of the tournament and the role these moments play in bringing people together.”

 

Community comes first

Having Federation Square as a live site during this year’s World Cup ensures that Melburnians wanting to back the Socceroos, can do so as one unit.

But even those who won’t be cheering for Australia, and will instead be adorning another nation’s colours, will still be able to unite and show their pride.

This is what live football is all about.

A variety of communities and nationalities which – despite supporting opposing sides – can come together under a shared love of the game. As Birrell continued to explain, this is a fundamental part of why the decision to overturn bares such importance.

“Football is a game that transcends age, background, language and culture.”

“It brings people together from all walks of life and creates moments of connection that are incredibly powerful, particularly uring global tournaments like the FIFA World Cup.”

The Socceroos will kick off their World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 14.

 

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