Asia PR News

KUALA LUMPUR, 29 June /KYODO/ –

Asian Football Confederation head Mohamed bin Hammam has blamed the
miserable showing of the Asian teams at the World Cup on the continent’s weak
domestic leagues.

Hammam said he was disappointed that Asian champions Japan, 2002 World Cup
semifinalists South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia had failed to reach the round
of 16 in Germany.

Australia, who qualified for the World Cup from the Oceania zone but have
since joined the AFC, made the second round but were cruelly knocked out by a
highly controversial last-minute penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Italy.

"Our results in Germany, with the exception of Australia, have brought
great disappointment to many Asian fans. Everyone was expecting our teams to do
much better than they did," Hammam was quoted as saying on the AFC’s official
website.

"It is my belief that this defeat is because of poor competition
structures, particularly club competitions, both at national and confederation
level."

"We will not see any improvement at the international standard unless we
restructure and improve the professionalism in our clubs and in our leagues,"
he said.

Bin Hammam continued with a clear message for the future development of
Asian football, defining the next steps forward to avoid similar disappointment
in the future.

"We need to professionalize all aspects of the game, including
administration and management, to really create professional leagues
comparative with those outside Asia."

"As president of AFC, this is my focus for our next stage of development.
We can achieve this, and this should be Asia’s future objective."

Hammam said Australia had an advantage over the rest of the Asian teams as
many of their players such as Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka play in the world’s
top leagues.

"In my mind, a key contributor to their success is that most of their team
plays in very strong leagues. They are well prepared for the high standards at
the World Cup," said Hammam.

"We need to build strong leagues in Asia so that our national teams have
the same experience to bring to the field in such important competitions."

Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter, the head of soccer’s world governing body FIFA,
said he thought it was a shame that none of Asia’s powerhouses had made it to
the second round and hoped Australia’s move to the AFC would boost the level of
competition in Asia.

"Asia could well have had at least one representative in the round of 16.
Korea Republic, for example, very nearly made it. It’s not a good thing for
Asian football," Blatter told FIFA World Cup.com.

"I find it a shame, but I consider it to be an accident. Football continues
to develop in Asia and the arrival of Australia can only boost the level of
competition."