Doha: Khalifa Al Haroon, the Lead Marketing Advisor to the Secretary-General of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Head of Commercial Affairs, participated in the third meeting of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Marketing Committee, held this past Thursday via video conference.

The meeting, chaired by AFC Marketing Committee Vice-Chairman Abdullah Nasser Al Junaibi and attended by its members, served to highlight the soaring commercial success and prestige of the AFC's revamped club competitions. The committee praised the significant impact of last year's landmark identity rebrand, which included the launch of new logos and identities for the elite club tournaments, as well as a comprehensive new AFC master brand.

This rebranding effort has driven a remarkable transformation in audience and commercial engagement. The committee reported a staggering 83% increase in the total number of tournament sponsors between the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons. This commercial boom was matched by a massive expansion in marketing activation activities, peaking at the AFC Elite Champions League 2025 final in Jeddah, which set a new record with 62 promotional events.

The numbers further confirm the growing strength and prestigious status of the continent's premier club competitions. The 2024-2025 AFC Elite Champions League season achieved a monumental 2.58 billion cumulative views, marking a 48% increase from the previous season. Its cumulative reach also saw massive growth, expanding to 9.109 billion.

Looking to the future, committee members were also briefed on the upcoming tender process for the sale of marketing and commercial rights for AFC tournaments for the cycle spanning 2029 to 2036, which is scheduled to be launched later this year.