Amman — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has activated new, stricter monitoring mechanisms to track professional clubs’ financial obligations across the continent and ensure compliance with the Asian Club Licensing Regulations. The confederation warned that penalties could include permanent revocation of a continental license or other severe measures after identifying violations by several affiliated clubs of a key requirement for granting licenses to teams participating in continental competitions.
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The requirement stipulates that clubs must settle all outstanding financial obligations to players and coaching staff in cases where final rulings have been issued, or reach mutually agreed settlements and payment schedules with the parties concerned, before the deadline set by the AFC.
Al-Faisaly, Al-Hussein Irbid and Al-Wehdat have obtained Asian licenses for the current season. Al-Hussein Irbid, winners of the Jordanian Professional League and Jordan Cup, and Al-Faisaly are competing in the AFC Champions League Two.
In a circular to national associations and clubs across Asia, the confederation said it had established an official communication channel to receive reports from creditors and other stakeholders through a designated email address. The channel is intended to verify clubs’ financial standing and ensure compliance with the applicable standards. The AFC stressed that the platform is exclusively for regulatory monitoring and auditing, not a legal forum for pursuing personal debt claims.
The AFC requires official documents, accompanied by certified English translations, to review cases involving overdue payments. These include a copy of a written notice of default sent to the debtor club 30 days after the amount became due, giving the club a final period of at least 10 days to settle the outstanding payment.
Clubs must also provide final decisions issued by recognized judicial and arbitration bodies, along with a comprehensive file containing details of the case, relevant contracts, previous correspondence and complete contact information for all parties involved.
The AFC has specified the bodies whose final rulings it recognizes in financial disputes. These include the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and FIFA bodies, such as the Dispute Resolution Chamber and the Players’ Status Chamber.
The confederation also recognizes decisions issued by independent national dispute resolution chambers, as well as disciplinary and judicial committees affiliated with the AFC and its member associations.
Overdue amounts include financial obligations arising from player transfers, including training compensation and solidarity contributions. They also cover payments owed to employees and professional players, such as fees, salaries, bonuses and other financial entitlements, as well as tax and financial obligations owed to government authorities and continental and domestic football associations. However, the regulations exclude claims by players’ agents from the definition of overdue payables.
The AFC warned that national associations are now required to monitor non-compliant clubs and enforce the regulations against them. Failure to meet these requirements could result in the direct rejection of an application for a continental competition license or the issuance of a conditional license accompanied by strict penalties and sanctions.
Resource: Al-Ghad.
