Asian Football Confederation Calling On FIFA To Help Support Banned Nations

The Asian Football Confederation called on FIFA to "join them in providing grassroots support for any member associations serving a suspension for government interference," according to Patrick Johnston of REUTERS. An AFC taskforce met in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to "discuss the matter of such intrusions" in the running of local FAs, which resulted in Kuwait and Indonesia being banned by FIFA last year. Meeting Chair Mariano V. Araneta Jr. said, "Our Member Associations are being punished for actions which are outside their control. It is extremely damaging for the members, who are not only banned from playing international football but also lose their grassroots funding." The AFC group said that it wanted FIFA to clarify the terms of the suspensions for the "very serious" matter of government interference, which it said was "hindering the growth of Asian football" (REUTERS, 4/6).