Riyadh: Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), presided over the seventh AFC Executive Committee meeting in Riyadh, ahead of the 2025 AFC Annual Awards ceremony. The meeting focused on the AFC's ongoing efforts to support national and regional football associations, emphasizing the sport's unifying power across nations.
According to Bahrain News Agency, Shaikh Salman expressed gratitude to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for hosting the meeting and acknowledged Saudi Arabia's increasing importance as a center for Asian football. He congratulated Qatar and Saudi Arabia on their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and praised Al Hilal for advancing to the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals.
Shaikh Salman also conveyed solidarity with member associations facing difficulties, pledging full support to the Palestinian Football Association amid recent developments in Gaza, and extending condolences to the football federations of Nepal and the Philippines.
The Executive Committee approved the new "Equal Pitche" programme, selected Thailand as the host for the next two AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cups, and endorsed new cooperation agreements with UEFA focusing on coach development and knowledge exchange, effective until 2029.
Additionally, it was announced that Thailand will host the next AFC Annual Awards ceremony in 2026.