Yesterday, President of the Asian Football Confederation and First Vice President of FIFA, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, received Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Olympic Committee of the People’s Republic of China, Gao Zhidan, on the occasion of his visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The President of the AFC praised the depth of the relations between the AFC and sports authorities in China, and stressed that China represents a distinguished model in strategic planning for the development of football. He pointed out that the AFC highly values the close partnership with China, and is keen to strengthen it through technical and administrative programs and sustainable development initiatives supervised by the AFC in various parts of the continent.
The President of the AFC appreciated the great efforts made by the Chinese government to develop football at various levels, including its continued support for the Chinese Football Association and its extensive investments in infrastructure and young talents.
For his part, the Chinese Minister of Sports expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa for the warm reception, praising the leadership role played by the AFC in supporting national federations and developing the game in Asia in line with the highest international standards. The Chinese minister stressed his country’s keenness to expand areas of cooperation with the Asian Football Confederation in the next stage, in a way that contributes to achieving common goals to serve the future of Asian football.
