Articles by Paul Williams

About Paul Williams

Paul Williams is an Adelaide-based football writer who has reported on the comings and goings of Asian football for the past decade. Having covered the past two Asian Cups, he writes regularly about the J.League for Optus Sport in Australia, while he also regularly contributes to Arab News. Further, he has previously been published by outlets such as FOX Sports Asia, Al Jazeera English, FourFourTwo, and appeared on numerous TV and radio shows to discuss Asian football.

Work to do as Australia get the job done in Women’s Asian Cup opener

March 2, 2026 Paul Williams

Sam Kerr scored, and Australia won. That’s normally a pretty good recipe for the Matildas, but on this occasion the final product felt slightly underbaked as Australia ran out 1-0 winners over the Philippines to […]

Kulbytė has Uzbekistan dreaming big

February 25, 2026 Paul Williams

Not only is Kotryna Kulbytė one of the few females actually coaching at this AFC Women’s Asian Cup, she is also younger than some of the players that will feature at the tournament. Yet for […]

Vietnam to build on World Cup experience: Huỳnh Như

February 17, 2026 Paul Williams

Less than three years on from their maiden appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Vietnam return to a tournament hosted by Australia dreaming of a return to the global showpiece in Brazil next year. […]

Who are FK Arkadag, the mysterious Turkmen club looking to take down Al Nassr?

February 10, 2026 Paul Williams

When the draw for the AFC Champions League Two Round of 16 was conducted at the end of 2025, there was one fixture that immediately stood out above all others Being Asia’s second-tier club competition, […]

‘The best coach I ever had!’ How Bojan Hodak built a legacy in Southeast Asia

February 9, 2026 Paul Williams

For a man that looks like he never smiles, it’s ironic that when you mention the name Bojan Hodak people’s faces light up. It’s hard to find anyone across Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, […]

FIFA World Cup draw explained – what it means for Asia

December 3, 2025 Paul Williams

The path to glory at next year’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be made clear this week with the completion of the Final Draw for the expanded 48-team tournament. […]

OPINION: It’s time for Arif Aiman to fly

November 7, 2025 Paul Williams

Malaysian football is in desperate need of a good story. Embroiled in scandal after FIFA handed down hefty sanctions for what it claims was “doctored documentation” in order to claim eligibility for seven naturalised players, […]

How one US investor is changing Saudi football

November 6, 2025 Paul Williams

The first thing you notice about Ben Harburg, a man with enormous wealth at his disposal as the Managing Partner at MSA Capital, a global investment firm with over $2 billion in assets, is how […]

Strugglers, rotations and drought breakers: What we learned from ACL Elite

October 23, 2025 Paul Williams

Approaching the half way mark of the League Stage, the shape of this year’s AFC Champions League Elite is slowly starting to take effect. There are some familiar patterns emerging: Saudi clubs continue to dominate […]

What we learned from the Fourth Round of Asian Qualifiers

October 15, 2025 Paul Williams

With Qatar and Saudi Arabia advancing from the Fourth Round of Asian Qualifiers, Asia’s set of eight teams is now complete for next year’s FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Of course, […]