Phillips, currently coaching Malaysian side Sabah FC and a regular pundit on FourFourTwo TV show in Asia, said Selby was the ideal man to make the most of the region’s potential and enhance Australia’s reputation within it.

“I’ve worked with Jim previously with OFC Coach Education courses throughout the Pacific and on my departure from AFC, I recommended Jim to fill the void. I knew it was a great opportunity for AFC to employ a quality educator,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

Selby has over 25 years of experience having worked as a FIFA Instructor and with the FIFA Technical Study Groups across FIFA tournaments, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

He has also instructed various coaching courses as a FIFA Instructor and AFC Elite Coaching Instructor from grassroots to professional level across countless countries in three continents for more than a decade.

Selby was also a long-serving coach for Australia’s first Matildas side in 1978. More recently he coached the OFC All-Stars against David Beckham’s LA Galaxy.

Selby has begun by selecting the members of the latest batch of the Project Future Coaches, AFC’s elite young coaches training project.

A former NSL winning coach and player with Brisbane Strikers and Sydney Olympic, Queenslander Phillips said he believed Selby has the right approach for such a role. 

He added: “There is so much potential throughout the AFC region and I am sure Jim will explore this with great vigour and passion.

"Australia has a good reputation and I am sure Jim will enhance that with his insights.”