West Asian Football Federation

What West Asian Football Federation does

The West Asian Football Federation (WAFF; اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم) is a regional, non-profit sports governing body founded in 2000 and headquartered in Amman, Jordan. It operates as the sole recognized regional confederation for football in West Asia under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA, with a fixed membership of 12 national football associations: Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Yemen. WAFF's core function is organizing inter-member football competitions across men's, youth, women's, women's clubs, futsal, and electronic football categories, while serving as a recognized qualification pathway to AFC continental tournaments.

WAFF's product portfolio includes nine editions of the Men's Championship since 2000, multiple Youth Championships (U-17, U-14), the Women's Clubs Championship (launched 2019), the Women's Youth Championship (launched 2022), the Women's Futsal Championship (launched 2022), and the Electronic Football Championship (fifth edition held in 2024). Supporting services include a media accreditation system for tournament coverage, Football for Development programs in partnership with development organizations, and humanitarian initiatives such as the Al-Anqa program supporting children in Gaza. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are administrative and event-driven.

WAFF operates as a non-profit federation rather than a commercial enterprise. Funding derives from member association contributions, FIFA and AFC support, and tournament organizing activities; no commercial pricing models exist because participation is governed by membership and qualification rules rather than market transactions. The federation employs 18 staff and maintains partnerships with AFC, FIFA, the Arab Football Association, the Khuttwat Foundation, Bloom (Al-Shabab Sports Talent Development), and its 12 member national associations. Distribution of tournament opportunities flows through the member associations to their national teams, clubs, and domestic leagues, with marketing and communications handled through the official website and social media channels.

Name

West Asian Football Federation

Legal name

West Asian Football Federation (اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم)

Website

https://the-waff.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) is a non-profit regional sports governing body headquartered in Amman, Jordan, organizing men's, women's, youth, futsal, and electronic football championships for its 12 West Asian member national associations under the governance of AFC and FIFA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Federation Services (Regional Football Governance)

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• Regional football federation
• Football tournament organization
• Youth football development
• Women's football competitions
• Sports governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Amman

HQ country

Jordan

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Federation Operations: The West Asian Football Federation operates as a regional sports governing body funded through membership contributions from 12 member football associations, FIFA and AFC support, and tournament organizing activities. As a non-profit sports organization, revenue generation is not a primary objective.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The West Asian Football Federation organizes regional football championship tournaments for national teams, clubs, and individual players across West Asia. Its portfolio spans men's senior championships, U-23, U-17 and U-14 youth categories, women's national and club championships, women's youth championships, futsal, and electronic football (e-sports) tournaments. WAFF also delivers football-for-development and community programs (including the Al-Anqa initiative supporting children in Gaza) and operates a media accreditation system for journalists covering its events. All of WAFF's tournaments are officially recognized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as qualification pathways for Asian continental championships.

Product overview

West Asian Football Federation operates a comprehensive portfolio of football tournament products and services. The core offerings include regional championship tournaments for national teams across men's, women's, and youth categories (U-17, U-14), as well as women's club championships and electronic football tournaments. Supporting services include a media channel registration system for tournament coverage, football development programs in partnership with organizations like the Early Pioneers Foundation, and community initiatives such as the Al-Anqa initiative supporting children in Gaza. WAFF serves 12 member national football federations including Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WAFF Championship: The main men's senior team tournament organized by the federation
• WAFF Women's Clubs Championship
• WAFF Women's Youth Championship
• WAFF U-23 Championship
• WAFF Electronic Football Championship

Products and services

• WAFF Championship (Men's Senior) The flagship men's senior national-team football tournament of the West Asian Football Federation, contested between national teams of the 12 member associations. It has served as an AFC-recognized pathway for inter-regional competition since 2000.
• WAFF Youth Championships (U-23, U-17, U-14) Regional youth tournaments for players under various age categories (U-23, U-17, U-14), contested by national teams of WAFF member associations to develop young football talent across West Asia.
• WAFF Women's Clubs Championship Championship for women's football clubs in West Asia, featuring women's clubs from member nations competing for a regional title.
• WAFF Women's Youth Championship (U-17) Under-17 women's youth national-team football tournament for West Asian member associations, supporting women's football development at youth level.
• WAFF Women's Futsal Championship Regional futsal championship for women's national teams in West Asia, covering the futsal discipline at female national-team level.
• WAFF Electronic Football (eFootball) Championship E-sports tournament organized by WAFF for electronic football (eFootball) games, conducted for both male and female participants in the West Asian region.
• Football for Development Programs Football development initiatives delivered in partnership with organizations such as the Early Pioneers Foundation, covering community programs, children's initiatives, and broader football development efforts across the region.
• Al-Anqa Initiative Community initiative supporting children in Gaza through football programs, providing safe play spaces and psychological support for children affected by conflict.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Bloom (Al-Shabab Sports Talent Development)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Bloom company participated in the Genuine Cup Houston tournament representing WAFF member clubs, demonstrating talent development partnership for youth players.
• Khuttwat FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Memorandum of understanding signed for a two-year partnership focused on enhancing sports and football as tools for community development in the region.
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWAFF operates under the governance framework of the AFC, which has officially recognized WAFF regional championships as qualification pathways for AFC continental tournaments.
• FIFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a regional confederation under FIFA's global football governance structure, WAFF receives support and operates within FIFA regulations.
• Arab Football AssociationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement signed between WAFF and Arab Football Association for joint football development initiatives in the Arab region.
• Member National Football Associations (12)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner12 national football associations that form the membership base: Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CONMEBOL: South America's regional football confederation, governing Copa Libertadores, Copa América, and member national federations. Structurally comparable to WAFF as a regional football governing body, though operating with much higher commercial revenue and brand equity.
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC): The continental parent body that governs all Asian football, including WAFF. AFC organizes continental championships (Asian Cup, Champions League Elite) that WAFF feeds into, sets the qualification pathway standards WAFF's tournaments must meet, and provides much of WAFF's institutional and financial support.
• Confederation of African Football (CAF): Africa's regional football confederation, structurally analogous to AFC and WAFF in operating continental and zonal competitions (AFCON, CHAN). CAF's zonal unions (e.g., WAFU, COSAFA, CECAFA) mirror WAFF's role as a sub-regional organizer serving national federations.
• UEFA: Europe's regional football confederation and the gold standard for regional football governance. Comparable to WAFF as a regional confederation running member-driven competitions, qualification pathways, and development programs, though at vastly greater scale and commercialization.
• CONCACAF: The regional football governing body for North/Central America and the Caribbean. Comparable to WAFF as a confederation organizing men's, women's, and youth competitions across a diverse set of member nations with varying football infrastructure.
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC): Oceania's regional football confederation, comparable to WAFF as a smaller regional body running member national team competitions (OFC Nations Cup, OFC Women's Nations Cup) with FIFA support and qualification pathways to global events.

Direct peers

• Arab Football Union: Pan-Arab football body overlapping geographically with WAFF's membership. WAFF already has a flagship cooperation agreement with the Arab Football Association, and the two operate overlapping cross-Arab competitions, making Arab Football Union a close structural peer in regional football governance.
• East Asian Football Federation (EAFF): The most direct sub-regional peer to WAFF in Asia. EAFF organizes East Asian Cup competitions (men's, women's, youth) for national teams of East Asian members under AFC, in the same sub-regional governance tier as WAFF. Highly comparable structure, member-based model, and tournament format.
• Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA): One of CAF's zonal unions (similar tier to WAFF under AFC) organizing men's and youth tournaments across Southern African national federations. Directly comparable as a sub-regional confederation running multi-format tournaments and youth development programs.
• ASEAN Football Federation (AFF): The sub-regional football governing body for Southeast Asia. AFF runs the AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup), AFF Women's Championship, and youth competitions across ASEAN member federations. Directly comparable to WAFF as a sub-regional AFC member body organizing inter-national team tournaments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thewaff
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/the-waff
• Facebookfacebook.com/thewaff
• Instagraminstagram.com/the.waff
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/westasianfootballfederation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about West Asian Football Federation