FIFA President Gianni Infantino told FIFA’s 47 Asian Member Associations (MAs) that the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and other future FIFA competitions will play a key role in advancing football across the continent and beyond. Speaking at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Member Associations and Regional Associations Presidents’ and General Secretaries’ Conference 2024 in Seoul, Korea Republic, Mr Infantino stressed the merit of a collaborative and all-encompassing approach to international and club football, highlighting the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ as the touchstone of inclusivity. FIFA's new flagship club competition will grace the world stage in June and July 2025, when 32 of the world’s leading teams from across all six FIFA confederations compete in the United States to be crowned the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup champions. Four Asian clubs – Korea Republic’s Ulsan HD, Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC and Al Ain FC of the United Arab Emirates - are among the 31 confirmed participants.

“The new FIFA Club World Cup - you should all come next year to the US to witness that from 15th June to 13th July - is the most inclusive club competition in the world,” Mr Infantino said in an address to delegates at the knowledge-sharing convention in the Korean Republic capital. “This (FIFA) Club World Cup will open, of course, a new era of club football, an era in which all the clubs in the world are included. And an era of club football solidarity as well. Because the revenues of this club football will go to the participating clubs, of course. But will go as well to club football all over the world to improve the work that all the clubs in your federations are doing.”

The FIFA President also explained how FIFA’s decision to expand the FIFA World Cup™ from 32 to 48 teams from 2026 - with the number of Asian places increased from four to a minimum of eight - will further drive football’s reach in the region.

“Asia is more than half of the world population, (and) to have at least eight countries participating in a (FIFA) World Cup was long overdue, wasn't it?” the FIFA President told the assembled delegates. “But it never happened until we made it happen. We made it happen all together, and now, suddenly, we have 18 countries of Asia in the last group stage, and everyone has a chance to participate in the (FIFA) World Cup.

“This is what will give you the opportunity to invest in football, your governments, your sponsors, your broadcasters, to believe in what you do, because the men's (FIFA) World Cup today is still the basis of all the work that we can do as FIFA in terms of football development.”

In addition to discussing the weight of the men’s game, Mr Infantino expressed his pride in the growth of women’s football in Asia, whilst emphasising the long-term value of strategic investment in football development in all 47 MAs through programmes such as FIFA Forward and Football for Schools.

“Women's football in Asia is, of course, very strong, has a long history, and is growing a little bit everywhere, and we've seen it with the last (FIFA) Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, how successful it can be,” he added. “Two million spectators, two billion watching it on TV. And as I mentioned [the] (FIFA) World Cup, let me mention as well, because we are in Asia, the (FIFA) World Cup in Qatar, five billion viewers, I mean, an incredible, incredible event, the best (FIFA) World Cup ever that we witnessed.

“These events give us the tools to invest in football. To develop youth, you need, of course, academies, pitches, and we are investing through the (FIFA) Forward Programme, together with you, in all of that. But we need, as well, competitions. And to be able to organise every year, instead of every two years, U-17 boys’ and U-17 girls’ World Cups with increased number of participants, more participants from all over the world. Well, this will force, of course, all of us, all of you, to invest in youth.”

The FIFA President concluded by underlining the importance of good governance, strong leadership, and joint action: “We are here, like all of you, to listen, to learn, to get your feedback back home. To make things always better, because football has to grow and we, in Asia, have to bring Asian football to the top of the world.”