The competition, which has served as a launching pad for some of Asia’s biggest stars, including Korea Republic’s Son Heung-min, Japan’s Takumi Minamino and Islamic Republic of Iran’s Sardar Azmoun, will now also showcase the next generation of referees who have honed their craft through the AFC’s referee development pathway.

The appointed officials were selected across the batches of 2017, 2018 and 2019, further highlighting the Academy’s sustained impact since its inception.

Additionally, the appointments also underscored the AFC’s commitment to ensuring the reach of its educational initiatives across the length and breadth of the Continent, with the referees hailing from Australia, China PR, India, IR Iran, Jordan, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand and Tajikistan—covering all five regions of the Confederation.

Moreover, the 20th iteration of the competition also marked a major milestone with the appointment of women officials for the first time in the tournament’s history. Among the four appointed women, China PR’s Dong Fangyu, also a graduate of the AFC Referee Academy, and Korea Republic’s Kim Yu-jeong will serve as referees, whereas Bao Mengxiao of China PR and Thailand’s Nuannid Dornjangreed will take on the role of assistant referees.

The AFC is the first Confederation to launch a dedicated academy for referees. Since its foundation in 2017, as many as 201 men and women referees from 39 AFC Member Associations have graduated or are in the midst of benefitting from the AFC Referee Academy’s all-inclusive curriculum.

The Academy’s role in nurturing Asia’s best refereeing talent has been tangible, with 30 current Academy referees registered on the FIFA international list, as well as 48 alumni already part of the Elite Panel.