Articles by Martin Lowe

About Martin Lowe

Martin Lowe is a freelance football writer who has been covering Asian football for the best part of the last decade. He appeared on Al Jazeera English television and Football Nation Radio during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, whilst writing for Sandals for Goalposts and other Asian football focused platforms. He has been a senior contributor to The Asian Game website since our launch in 2019.

Thrills and spills expected as Asian Cup qualifying concludes

June 6, 2022 Martin Lowe

This coming week greets the culmination of Asian Cup 2023 qualification with the final round of qualifiers set to take place across the continent. Three years in the making, one sizeable pandemic-shaped-inconvenience navigated, the competing […]

U23 Asian Cup to shine spotlight on Asia’s next generation

June 1, 2022 Martin Lowe

The biennial AFC U23 Championship, newly rebranded as the U23 AFC Asian Cup, is set to kick off a month-long international football feast in Asia, with the youth tournament playing second fiddle behind the culmination […]

OPINION: AFC must consider the good of the game when deciding World Cup fate

May 17, 2022 Martin Lowe

As the great and the good of association administrators prepare to descend on the 32nd AFC Congress this coming week, the power to change the course of development and opportunity across Asian football couldn’t be […]

AFC Champions League: West Zone review

May 3, 2022 Martin Lowe

The exhausting, sometimes exhilarating, occasionally drawn out AFC Champions League group stage in the West concluded last Wednesday evening with a mix of emotions. Following 60 games in the space of 20 short days, the […]

Central Asia looking to prove their worth as ACL kicks off

April 5, 2022 Martin Lowe

The forthcoming AFC Champions League season is set to kick off this Thursday in Saudi Arabia, as the West region of the continental club championship returns for 2022. Amongst the participants, Central Asia’s presence swells […]

Qualification complete, Asia’s true test awaits in Qatar

March 31, 2022 Martin Lowe

Four years is a long time in football. Drawing to a close another cycle of qualification in Asia, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Japan will once again represent the continent in the main World […]

Qualification a coming of age for the Green Falcons

March 25, 2022 Martin Lowe

Almost four years on from their infamous 5-0 defeat to Russia that opened the World Cup in 2018, Saudi Arabia have booked their return to the global showpiece, after their peerless qualification was sealed on […]

Hope springs eternal for UAE after underwhelming campaign

March 22, 2022 Martin Lowe

One win for the United Arab Emirates over the next week will likely guarantee their Road to Qatar 2022 journey continues to the final AFC playoff in June. The question to ask then is, why […]

Can anyone stop Pakhtakor’s dominance of Uzbek football?

March 1, 2022 Martin Lowe

If this weekend’s curtain raiser was anything to go by, Uzbek football looks to have started 2022 in the same fashion as it ended 2021. Unfortunately, however, 2021 will not live long in the memory; […]

Qatar 2022 qualification shows Iran’s growth

January 28, 2022 Martin Lowe

Following their 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Iraq on Thursday, Iran became the second Asian nation to guarantee participation at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year. Scenes of jubilation and pride broke […]