United Arab Emirates complete their preparations ahead of their Asian Cup semi final with hosts Australia on Tuesday. When Asian players start to make names for themselves at home, the question is usually not far behind. It s almost a testament to their talent. At some points someone says: Yes, but are they good enough for the big European leagues? In the…
Yes Simon Johnson Director of Corporate Affairs at the Football Association There is no question that football has come a long way in recent times in involving ethnic minorities in the game. There is still much work to do, particularly in bringing more people from the Asian communities into the sport, but it is important to recognise that we now have the principles…
The Iranian men’s national beach soccer team (file photo) The Iranian men’s national beach soccer team has maintained its place as the best squad in Asia in the newest edition of the Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) rankings, and claimed the fifth spot in the world. According to the latest monthly rankings released by the BSWW, the organization responsible for the…
Asia is a big continent, so it s hard to make sweeping generalizations. I think Zac meant specifically Far East countries like the two Koreas, China, and Japan. So I ll focus on those. The short answer is that yes, there is a physical gap, and it matters. Yet it probably does not matter as much as many think it does. And it comes with two big qualifiers: 1- it…
The Indian football team is in Yangon to play an Asian Cup Qualifying game. Myanmar have faced India 17 times in the past, with India winning on just four occasions. Their south-eastern neighbours on the other hand have got the better of them ten times. Despite India’s indigent records against most teams in world football, their poor numbers against Myanmar makes…
Three players from the I-League champions have also made it to Stephen Constantine s initial list for the camp in Mumbai.. Indian national team coach Stephen Constantine has drafted an initial list of 35 players for a conditioning camp in Mumbai before The Blue Tigers take to the field for a crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifier game against Kyrgyz Republic. There…
From Japan, South Korea and Australia, all the way to Iran, Iraq, and Uzbekistan, Asian players have moved to Europe to advance their football career. At Football Channel Asia , we start tracking performance rating of Asian footballers who currently play at top seven European leagues of England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands and Turkey. The following…
Kewell’s life at Anfield never quite reached the heights he would have hoped, with injuries a constant companion. He was part of the magical night in Istanbul when Liverpool pulled off an unbelievable comeback and beat AC Milan in the UCL final in 2005, but he limped off before half-time after being handed a start by Rafael Benitez. After that his career took…