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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Eastern Suburbs Football Association Announces First All-Female Referee Course and Expanded Women’s Competition

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Image Credit: Football NSW

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association has opened its 2026 season with three structural investments that reflect the growing ambition of community football associations to address participation, representation and development gaps simultaneously, beginning with the delivery of its first all-female Football Match Official Course.

The course, held at Matraville Sports High School and led by female liaison committee member Michelle Hilton and 2025 Referee of the Year Ariella Richards, brought 25 new female referees into the association ahead of Round 1. The initiative targets one of the most persistent imbalances in community sport, with women remaining significantly underrepresented in officiating roles at every level of the game, by creating a dedicated entry point separate from the mixed course environment that many women find unwelcoming.

The Women’s Premier League has also expanded, now featuring eleven teams and introducing a WPL1 and WPL2 structure following the first ten rounds of the season. The tiered format creates more competition opportunities for clubs across the region while providing a clearer development pathway for teams at different stages of growth. Returning clubs Randwick City, Glebe Wanderers, Easts FC and Sydney University join established sides in what the association describes as one of its most competitive women’s seasons. ESFA clubs have continued to perform strongly in state-wide competitions including the Football NSW Sapphire Cup, State Cup and Champion of Champions.

Building the next generation

The season opened with an inaugural Development League Gala Day for Under-9 to Under-12 boys and girls, bringing eight clubs together in a structured development environment ahead of Round 1. Sydney FC A-League Women’s players attended the event and engaged directly with young participants, a deliberate effort to connect grassroots players with visible examples of where the pathway leads.

“We are committed to creating more opportunities for clubs, players, coaches and referees to thrive, with a strong focus on participation opportunities to suit participants of all abilities and aspirations,” said ESFA CEO John Boulous.

The three initiatives, a new referee entry point for women, an expanded women’s competition structure, and a development-focused junior gala day with elite role models present, together reflect an association responding to the participation pressures the AFC Women’s Asian Cup has brought into sharp relief across Australian football.

More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

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