eaff

EAFF’s Progress in the Past Five Years

--Where the Federation Currently Stands--
Established in May, 2002, the East Asian Football Federation marked its fifth birthday this year. The solidarity shown by the East Asian football associations sends a strong message, not only throughout Asia but also around the world. On its fifth anniversary, the Federation reconfirmed the importance of continuing to establish a sound financial and organizational ground, as well as to promote competitions among the younger age groups and to implement more training opportunities for referees and coaches. Equally important is that the member associations work hard in friendly rivalry through their participation in the East Asian Football Championship preliminary and final competitions. The immediate goal is to improve the football level in East Asia, which in turn will raise the overall football standard in the Asian region.

--What Has Been Accomplished--
The biennial East Asian Football Championship (EAFC) was inaugurated in 2003 (the 3rd edition was moved to 2008, due to the AFC Asian Cup to be organized in 2007). In the inauguration year, China PR, Japan and Korea Rep.—the three associations with World Cup experience—automatically qualified to the final competition. The preliminary competition was played among Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia—five associations that have not quite yet reached the same world-class level—and Hong Kong qualified with a perfect 4-win finish. The four teams in the final competition played a round-robin tournament (each team playing three matches), and Korea Rep. captured the first EAFC title.

Organizing the preliminaries is not only aimed at deciding who qualifies for the final competition. Associations who take part in preliminary competitions usually come from areas where football is still developing, so they do not have many opportunities to play an international A match. By hosting the preliminaries, such members can work in friendly rivalry and will be able to play more serious matches on a regular basis. These efforts will contribute to the development of football and will raise the football standard in East Asia. These are the objectives that EAFF declared upon its establishment five years ago.

In 2005, the 2nd EAFC Preliminary Competition was hosted by Chinese Taipei. Although Macau did not participate, five members, including first-timer DPR Korea, competed in the preliminaries. It was DPR Korea who gained a place in the finals, but it was obvious that the overall standard of the EAFC has improved dramatically. The EAFC Final Competition, organized in Korea Rep., produced one surprising result after another—Japan lost to DPR Korea, and Korea Rep., failing to win a single match, finished at the bottom. The ultimate winner turned out to be China PR. With experienced players from the 2002 FIFA World Cup combined with young talent being groomed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China PR reigned as champion of the 2nd EAFC. This tournament confirmed that the gap among the teams was closing and it marked the beginning of a fierce battle in East Asia. The same year, the women’s championship was held with the participation of China PR, Japan, DPR Korea and Korea Rep. Similar to the men’s finals, a round-robin tournament was carried out between the four teams (each team playing three matches), and, to the delight of the local supporters, the host, Korea Rep., was crowned champion.

The participation of DPR Korea in the 2005 EAFC was a significantly noteworthy event. DPR Korea and Korea Rep. played opposite each other for the first time in 12 years. It was an important match, not only for the teams who needed to win for the title, but more as a gesture of peace and goodwill, a perfect example of how football can break barriers and nurture friendships. It was a moment when the biggest objective EAFF declared at its establishment was achieved.

In July, 2006, the “U-14 Youth Festival” was held in Beijing, China. An invitation was extended to the Northern Mariana Islands, and a total of ten teams played a round-robin tournament. Organizing younger age group competitions in East Asia is expected to have the same positive contribution as hosting preliminaries—the progress and development of football in this region.

In February, 2008, the 3rd EAFC will be held in Chongqing, China. In March and April of this year, the Northern Mariana Islands, who joined EAFF as an Associate Member last December, participated in a preliminary competition playoff against Guam. Guam defeated the new EAFF member and will be joining Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, DPR Korea, Macau and Mongolia in the preliminaries to be hosted in Macau from June 16 to 24. The women’s preliminary competition will be hosted in Guam in July, with Chinese Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong and Korea Rep. playing a round-robin tournament for a place in the finals for which China PR, Japan and DPR Korea are already qualified.

--From East Asia to the World--
The FIFA U-17 World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be hosted in the Korea Rep. and Chine PR respectively, indicating how the East Asian region continues to undertake large responsibilities and is placed with an increasingly important role in the football world. The 3rd EAFC therefore will be receiving a lot of attention worldwide and presents a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the progress made in these past five years. It will also be a perfect stage to communicate a message through football from East Asia to the rest of the world. Five years from its inauguration, it is time to reinforce the solidarity of EAFF.

Magnificent Gathering Celebrating 5th Anniversary of EAFF

On June 8, 2007, a reception celebrating the fifth anniversary of the East Asian Football Federation was held at the Tokyo Midtown, a brand new urban complex in Tokyo. The ten EAFF members looked back on their friendship nurtured over the past five years and pledged to reinforce their solidarity. About 200 guests attended the event to celebrate the happy occasion together.

The reception opened with a welcome from the EAFF President, Xie Yalong. Mr. Xie called upon the members to continue building a solid cooperative relationship and stressed his enthusiasm for the 3rd East Asian Football Championship to be held in Chongqing, China, next year in February. Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, Honorary Patron of JFA, spoke on behalf of the distinguished guests with kind congratulatory words and a reminder of the responsibility that EAFF must undertake: “The objective of EAFF when it was first established was to develop football in East Asia and to promote peace and goodwill in the region. We must strengthen the relationship among the members.” Among the distinguished guests was the former General Secretary of AFC, Dato’ Peter Velappan, who wished EAFF further prosperity: “EAFF has the support of FIFA and it has a bright future ahead.”

A diversified menu featuring cuisines from different countries was served at the reception, but the main attraction was the “noodle bar”—noodle dishes representing each of the EAFF members. Soba from Japan, dan-zai noodles from Chinese Taipei, and cold dao xiao mian with Bang Bang Chicken (carved noodles served with chicken and sesame sauce) from China are just some of the examples of the delicacies that were offered, and the guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience. On stage, the chef gave a special performance of dao xiao mian (carving the Chinese noodles), and Mr. Xie, President of EAFF, joined in to entertain the guests. Following the delightful dao xiao mian noodle-carving presentation was a music performance featuring traditional instruments from China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. The audience enjoyed the wonderful collaboration of the unique instruments.

The fifth anniversary celebration was a perfect opportunity for the ten EAFF members to gather together and reconfirm their friendship. Symbolizing their unity was the closing “ceremony” sparked by Junji Ogura, Vice-President of EAFF. After Mr. Ogura’s closing remarks, the heads of the EAFF members were called to the stage. They were given a Japanese “happi” jacket to wear and were asked to take off their tie and tie it around their head “hachimaki” style. With lively team spirit, they then proceeded to perform along with the rest of the house a Japanese “san-bon-jime” hand-clapping ceremony, vowing to reinforce their solidarity and to increase the volume of the message delivered from Asia to the world. It was evident from the smile on the faces of everyone present that it was a meaningful event for EAFF. We can all look forward to a spectacular outcome for the 3rd EAFC next February.

BACK｜HOME