The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) commitment to develop grassroots football in Asia was underlined as more than 100 grassroots development officers gathered for the closing of the first-ever AFC Grassroots Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
The theme of the conference – Grassroots Football in Asia: The Way Forward – was designed to equip Asia’s grassroots managers with the industry’s best practices and widen their capabilities to implement robust grassroots systems in their respective countries.
In conjunction with the conference, the AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football 2015 were also presented to Japan (Inspiring), Vietnam (Developing) and Brunei (Aspiring) on the first day. The awards, which were originally announced during the AFC’s Annual Awards in New Delhi, India, last November, are based on a points system which takes into account several criteria, such as the structure and management of grassroots football, as well as the philosophy and policy of the MAs.
Featuring some of grassroots’ most established specialists, which included Grassroots expert, Robin Russell, German Football Association’s (DFB) Willi Hink, the Indian Super League’s (ISL) Grassroots Director, Piet Hubers and Grassroots Adviser in China and Japan Tom Byer, the conference reinforced AFC’s vision to ensure that football remains the most popular sport in Asia.
AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh said: “The purpose of the grassroots game is to have mass participation, providing opportunities for all. Building a strong base through the grassroots is necessary for the game to flourish across the continent.”
The AFC definition of grassroots is ‘all football which is non-professional and non-elite’. The AFC Grassroots Charter was presented to participants to encourage Member Associations (MA) to further develop their programmes and aspire towards the AFC’s benchmark.
Kurbanov Charymurat, Grassroots Manager from the Football Federation of Turkmenistan said: “The new Charter is most useful as it creates a step-by-step approach to grow our game progressively. It gives us the motivation to continuously improve and learn from each other’s strengths.”
“This conference is an excellent platform to share ideas, to understand what works, areas to improve and good implementation practices first-hand from some of the most renowned grassroots experts.
Participants were also provided case studies, highlighting the benefits of the grassroots game, as a powerful platform to promote positive values, education, health, community and social development, through football.
