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AFC President hails "remarkable season" for Asian football

Xinhua, November 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Asian Football Confederation President Shaikh Salman hailed the past 12 months of Asian football a "remarkable season" on Sunday.

Shaikh Salman made the comments at the AFC Annual Awards extravaganza in New Delhi, India.

Looking back this year, records were broken from the opening days of January in Australia right up to last few days in Guangzhou, according to Salman.

"Record crowds, up 35 per cent, in the Asian Cup in Australia -TV audiences were an all-time high and the way we engaged with fans across the continent reached new levels," said Salman.

In the past season, more than 260 million people watched on television across the continent, a remarkable 2.25m attended the games with record average attendances.

Salman also sent his congratulations to Guangzhou Evergrande on winning the Asian Champions League by defeating Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates.

Besides, in 2015, the AFC became the first confederation to hold a Women's Futsal Championship.

In Canada World Cup, women's football has again shone on the global stage with South Korea, Australia, China and the eventual runners-up Japan all advancing beyond the group stages.

"For a long time people talked of the future being Asia, I am now convinced that the present is Asia. I am certain that we stand on the very brink of greatness in this continent - the dawning of the Asian age," said Salman. Endi