The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), that will result in greater cooperation and competition between the two FIFA Confederations for the benefit of football in the Pacific and Asia.
The MOU signed after the 33rd AFC Congress in Bahrain will run for three years and will see the OFC and AFC strengthen their ties through more matches between teams from the two Confederations. It represents a further strengthening of a strong relationship forged between the Confederations who first signed an MOU in 2016.
OFC President Lambert Maltock is hailing the MOU as hugely significant and beneficial for football in Oceania and reflects a long-standing relationship that has been built from AFC’s and OFC’s commitment and love for football.
“We are pleased that the implementation of this agreement means a focus on high level competitions between representative teams from both confederations,” Maltock said.
“The development that Oceania men’s and women’s teams will gain from these competitions are hugely beneficial, and reinforces OFC’s commitment to the strategic pillars of development and high performance within the OFC Strategy.”
AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa believes the MOU will strengthen both Confederations.
“This Memorandum of Understanding symbolises the long-standing partnership between the AFC and the OFC and reinforces our commitment to unlock the opportunities to further expand the growth of the game in this passionate Asia-Pacific region,” Al Khalifa said.
Both the AFC and the OFC share similar challenges as well as common interests and I am confident that the exchange of best practices will provide fresh impetus to take the beautiful game to even greater heights.”
There are 11 national football associations in the OFC and two associate Members, and 47 in the AFC. The two Confederations intend to foster cooperation and dialogue for the purpose of building a solid legacy, with an aim to give rise to sporting, social, cultural and educational benefits.
The MOU will focus on creating high-level competition for men’s and women’s teams and the exchanging of knowledge, experience and resources through the technical and administrative training of the respective Confederations.
SOURCE: OFC/PACNEWS
