AFC establishes Entry Control Body for its competitions

Press Release

23 December 2016

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today confirmed the establishment of an independent Entry Control Body to rule on the eligibility for entering AFC competitions.

The new judicial body will have five members and will be chaired by Mr Liu Chi from China PR. The body’s formation supports the key pillars of the AFC’s mission statement which seek to establish successful Asian teams, good governance and strengthen integrity.

The Entry Control Body (ECB) will make decisions on eligibility for the AFC competitions against the criteria set by the Entry Control Manual (2017-2020).

The body will have jurisdiction where:

The AFC or a club alleges that a club has been directly or indirectly involved in match manipulation;
The AFC or a club alleges that there exists a violation of rules relating to control or influence;
The AFC or a club alleges that a Member Association has nominated the incorrect club or clubs to participate in a competition;
The AFC or a club alleges that a Member Association has incorrectly granted a licence for a club to participate in a competition;
A club submits an Extraordinary Application to participate in a competition.

Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The AFC is determined to display the highest standards of integrity and good governance and the establishment of this body is another independent and transparent way of achieving that ambition.

“The AFC has a zero tolerance towards match manipulation and has done more than many other bodies to tackle that threat to sport. We are also determined to protect the sporting integrity of our competitions which are now regarded as some of the best in the world.

“We are delighted that we have received the support of our Member Associations, who under the banner of One Asia, One Goal, have again shown great unity, solidarity and leadership.”

Friday, 23 December 2016