International sports law experts share knowledge at AFC Legal Workshop 2015
Press Release
The Asian Football Confederation’s high-profile AFC Legal Workshop 2015 ended today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Experts in international sports law from the AFC, FIFA, UEFA, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the AFC judicial bodies gathered at the two-day event, hosted by Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration yesterday and today.
AFC Acting General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “This is an important event for the AFC, as commitment to sports justice is at the very core of football. The AFC judicial bodies and the AFC Legal Committee are vital to the integrity of the AFC competitions and to the credibility of the sport in Asia.”
The event started with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the AFC and Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). KLRCA is an internationally recognised institution with over 700 domestic and international arbitrators. The MoU between the two organisations establishes a basis for further co-operation in respect of the use of facilities and services provided by both parties. The agreement will benefit the AFC as well as the AFC Member Associations in various aspects of their legal work.
The main objective of the AFC Legal Workshop 2015 was to facilitate dialogue between the participants in order to ensure consistency and fairness in all football judicial matters and to helping maintain the robustness of the disciplinary systems.
The event also provided an opportunity to ensure the AFC’s judicial procedures are in line with those of other international football governing bodies. A task force had been appointed to review and amend the AFC Disciplinary Code and a new draft of the code was examined during the workshop.
The topics discussed at the meeting included match-fixing and best ways to combat it at member association and confederation level. Other integrity and disciplinary matters, as well as anti-doping, were also on the workshop agenda.