Asian football chiefs have signed a cooperation pact with their European counterparts in a bid to improve the standard of football in the region.
The agreement will see Uefa helping the Asian Football Confederation in establishing and developing new education, training and refereeing projects, among other events.
"We have a goal to be one of the best confederations of the world and at the moment Asian football is on the rise but there is a long way to go," said Zhang Jilong, acting president of the AFC.
"Because of their top qualities in football, UEFA are the benchmark. They can help us raise our standard and I hope this is the beginning."
The new arrangement between the two bodies will also extend to how competitions are organized, and the promotion of grassroots and youth football among the members of the AFC.
"At the moment we are working on identifying areas where this partnership agreement can be worked upon," said Jilong.
Michel Platini, the Uefa president, said the new memorandum of understanding between the governing bodies would help them share experience to improving areas such as coaching.
"Solidarity is a key value in football, and it is therefore important that it is also shown between confederations," he added.
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