Asia: Dato’ Alex praises sponsors’ role

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay has praised the role of sponsors in the recent successes of Asian football.

Welcoming the top executives of AFC’s official sponsors Toyota at the AFC House on behalf of the AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Dato’ Alex said: “Your continued support is crucial towards building on our recent successes and we are focused on continuing this good work with dedicated partners like Toyota.”

“We are continuously working towards the development of various crucial and fundamental areas of the game such as, technical and coaching development, grassroots and youth football development, sports medicine and refereeing.

He said the AFC President is also keen on forging stronger relations with the sponsors and partners of Asian football.

“The new AFC President wishes to engage the sponsors more in order to develop a win-win partnership,” he added.

Recalling Toyota’s involvement in football since the introduction of Toyota Cup in 1980, Dato’ Alex said: “Toyota was one of the first companies to have sensed the potential of Asian football and today the bond has grown stronger.”

“The vision of the AFC cannot be achieved alone and only with the belief of sponsors and partners such as you that this would be attainable. We would like to thank you for your continued support to the AFC.”

Soichiro Ota, Toyota’s Director of Global Communications, said: “We are proud to be associated with Asian football and we are looking to build a stronger partnership in the future.”

“Asian football has taken giant steps in the recent past and we would like to set up a better communication platform between the stakeholders.”

The meeting was also attended by Dentsu’s Senior Manager, Yoshihiro Oi, World Sport Group’s Senior Vice-President, Tom Smith and WSG’s Head of Football, Simon Thompson.