AFC president calls for overhaul of clubs and leagues after World Cup flop

AFP - Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed bin Hammam has called for an overhaul of domestic clubs and leagues to make regional sides more competitive after a poor World Cup.

Other than Australia, who were knocked out by Italy in the last 16 on Monday, none of the Asian teams made it past the first round and the football supremo described it as a big disappointment.

He said they played to their limit, but it was clear that their limit was not good enough to compete with the best in the world.

"We were hoping to have at least two teams in the second round but it didn't happen and that is disappointing," he told AFP.

"This reflects our poor domestic leagues and continental competitions. We have to make drastic changes to help Asian football progress and be more professional."

There were high hopes for South Korea and Asian champions Japan after the two countries co-hosted the 2002 World Cup and surprised everyone when South Korea made the semi-finals and Japan the round of 16.

But they failed to live up to expectations in Germany and along with Saudi Arabia and Iran were turfed out of the competition before the knockout rounds.

It left AFC newcomer Australia to carry Asian hopes and they were cruelly dumped on Monday after 10-man Italy scored a last minute penalty.

Before the tournament began, bin Hammam told AFP Asian football's reputation and credibility would be on the line in Germany and he admits the failure to get teams past the first round could have repercussions.

At present, four AFC teams automatically qualify for the World Cup but the regional body has been hoping to convince FIFA that it should have five.

"What has happened cannot help in the push for more Asian places," he said.

While Asian football confederations were doing their best, bin Hammam said a lack of professionalism among Asian domestic clubs and leagues was hindering the development of football.

"It is my belief that this defeat is because of poor competition structures, particularly club competitions, both at national and confederation level," he said.

"We will not see any improvement at the international standard unless we restructure and improve the professionalism in our clubs and in our leagues.

"We need to professionalise all aspects of the game, including administration and management, to really create professional leagues comparative with those outside Asia.

"As president of AFC, this is my focus for our next stage of development. We can achieve this, and this should be Asias future objective."

Previously he has pointed to the English Premier League as the model for Asian nations to follow, and said Australia's success was because most of its players plyed their trade in professional leagues in Europe.

"In my mind, a key contributor to their success is that most of their team plays in very strong leagues," he said of a country that only joined the AFC this year, defecting from Oceania to give it a better chance to qualify for the World Cup.

"They are well prepared for the high standards at the World Cup. We need to build strong leagues in Asia so that our national teams have the same experience to bring to the field in such important competitions."