The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and global leader in digital payments, Visa, have announced the renewal of their partnership to cover more regions and competitions in the upcoming season.

As part of the new deal, Visa will become the Official Global Supporter of the AFC’s key competitions, including the AFC Champions League Elite™, AFC Women’s Champions League™, and AFC Champions League Two™ for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, as well as the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26.

The AFC and Visa will work together to build on the success of their existing regional partnership, which kicked off at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™. Visa will continue to work to bring fans closer to the game through exclusive opportunities and activations for their cardholders across Asia. These experiences include:

• Visa Coin Toss: Lucky Visa cardholders will participate in the pre-match coin toss with match officials and team captains.
• Final Whistle Experience: Visa prize winners will get to watch the final ten minutes of matches from the pitch side, offering a unique perspective.
• Visa Player Escort Kids Programme: Over 100 children will have the chance to lead their heroes onto the pitch at the AFC Champions League Elite™ Finals.

AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John said: “Building on the incredible success of the greatest-ever AFC Asian Cup™ in history, the AFC is delighted to expand our partnership with Visa and welcome them as an Official Global Supporter of our world-class competitions.

“The strategic reforms introduced to our competitions are already leaving a lasting impact on our teams and passionate fanbase, and we thank Visa for underlining their confidence in the future of Asian football.”

Tarek Abdalla, SVP, CMO for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa – Visa, said: “We are excited to renew Visa’s partnership with the Asian Football Confederation. This partnership highlights our ongoing dedication to uniting people through the universal language of sports and seamlessly aligns with our brand positioning – uplifting everyone, everywhere. Visa is proud to be in the unique position of sponsoring both the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ and the FIFA World Cup 2026. This provides opportunities to engage with fans as they follow their national team through the qualifying matches and all the way to the finals of the FIFA World Cup in July 2026. We look forward to creating memorable experiences for fans, local communities and teams alike at upcoming AFC events.”

Patrick Murphy, CEO of AFG said: “Visa has been an outstanding partner of the AFC, and it is our pleasure to be expanding our partnership with them in the new season. Working together with the AFC, Visa has established a unique activation programme that brings their cardholders closer to the action than ever, and we’re looking forward to working with them towards achieving more success and further engaging fans across Asia.”