LAHORE – Pakistan Football Federation President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat congratulated Palestinian Football Association (PFA)’s President General Rajoub Jibril on winning entry into the AFC President’s Cup. “The clubs playing in AFC President’s Cup have matured and will be able to play at the higher level such as the AFC Cup, and even the AFC Champions League, in the future,” said Faisal.
The AFC President’s Cup and Challenge Cup Organising Committee, under the chairmanship of Ganesh Thapa, approved the participation of Palestine clubs in the AFC President’s Cup in the presence of AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam and FIFA Vice-President Dr Chong Mong-joon. PFA had expressed its interest in AFC Club Competitions and the committee endorsed the participation of Palestinian clubs in the AFC President’s Cup from 2011 onwards and they will make debut when the first round will be held from 5-15 May 2011.
Since the competition began, the eight founding nations who took part are Tajikistan, Nepal, Taiwan, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Cambodia. Pakistani representatives in the event are WAPDA (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011), Army (2006, 2007) and KRL (2010). Event history’s powerhouse Dordoi Dynamo, who played back-to-back six final, won the AFC President’s Cup in 2006 and 2007 and lost the final in 2005, 2008, 2009 to Tajikistan’s Regar TadAZ but the two were not able to renew that in 2010 what has emerged as one of the most keenly contested rivalries in Asian club football after Dordoi were beaten by Myanmar’s Yadanabon.
Qualification to the competition is allowed to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC’s ’emerging nations’ category as laid out in their ‘Vision Asia’ document. Countries which are ‘mature’ and ‘developing’ nations are entered into the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, respectively.
