Pace of professionalisation hailed

AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam making a point during the Workshop for CEOs of Professional Leagues in Bangkok on Saturday. Bangkok: AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam has hailed the pace at which professionalisation was sweeping Asian club football, calling upon the Chief Executives of Asian leagues to keep up the momentum. The AFC President was addressing the Chief Executives of 12 top Asian Leagues here in the capital of Thailand on Saturday at the first Workshop for CEOs of Professional Leagues in Asia. Football Association of Thailand (FAT) President Dato Worawi Makudi, who is also a FIFA Executive Committee member, also attended the workshop. “Two or three years ago a meeting of Chief Executives of Asian leagues like this was unthinkable. But today you are all here and this is proof of the progress we are making,” said Bin Hammam in his opening speech. “The reports of the Special Mission Teams have been very positive and very encouraging and we have moved forward in the last two years. But we need to go further. “Success doesn’t come by coincidence. It comes through planning, hard efforts and patience. We need to gauge our strengths and weaknesses and work on the latter,” said Bin Hammam. “AFC is not less than any confederation. Today Asia has the economy, the potential and the passion for football. We (Asian football) have everything to be No 1 in the world. Don’t underestimate your potential. “You are the architects of your leagues but don’t stop at thinking only about your own leagues. Dream big…of spreading your football and professional practices to other countries.  Only planning can make this happen,” added the AFC chief. FAT President Makudi said the workshop enabled the participants to come together and brainstorm for the good of the game. “You as the CEO are very important for the development of the game in Asia. Today you can meet each other and exchange ideas,” said Makudi, who also praised the AFC President’s initiative in ushering in an era of professionalism in the continent. UAE Football League CEO Carlo Nohra pointed out the vast changes in attitude brought about by the changes on professional lines AFC was insisting upon. “In the UAE the intention is to create a commercial base for clubs so that in the long run they can survive on their own without depending on government grants,” said Nohra.  “The benefits of the professional  leagues project is the formation of the UAE League and an organization that is legally empowered by the FA to run its affairs, and the income that is being generated by the league is going to the clubs.” AFC Tournament Director Tokuaki Suzuki said he was looking forward to more similar workshops in the future. “The key person for us is the league CEO and all the CEOs contributed their ideas in lifting the standards of the game in Asian and taking it outside the continent,” said Suzuki. “There are many more important topics and issues to be discussed and, considering that this was only our first meeting, I think the outcome was quite productive. http://www.the-afc.com/