Both Chen sisters agree that the AFC U-13 Girls Festival of Football will develop the women's game in Asia.

HO CHI MINH CITY – Chen Yue Gui and her older sister Chen Cai Ying believe that taking part in the AFC U-13 Girls Festival of Football ‘C’ Coaching Certificate Course can help them realise their ambition of contributing to the development of the women’s game.

The Chen girls hail from China but have lived in Singapore for the last four years, playing for recently crowned 2008 Women’s Premier League champions FAS Young Women and coaching in various educational institutions in the island republic

“The experiences here will help us develop women’s football in Singapore as our aim is to become better coaches and inspire more female coaches,” said Yue Gui, who at 21 is just over three years younger than Cai Ying.

Prior to leaving China in 2004, Yue Gui played for Jian Xu Hua Tai while Cai Ying turned out for the Guangdong Sports School in the China Youth League having also had spells in the China Women’s League Guangdong Hai Ying and in the Guangdong Women’s League with Zhan Jiang.

But since their arrival in Singapore their careers have followed an identical path, with both girls spending two years at Sunray Cave before joining FAS Young Women in 2006 and sharing coaching positions with Nanyang Junior College, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and the Singapore U-17’s at the FAS Women’s Challenge Cup in 2007.

So it is unsurprising that Cai Ying shares her younger sibling’s sentiments how taking part in the ‘C’ Certificate course at the AFC U-13 Girls Festival of Football can benefit young coaches aspiring to make an impact in women’s football in Asia.

“We are able to see how other countries develop youth players, see different techniques and bring them back home to further develop our game,” said the 24-year-old.

Cai Ying and Yue Gui are two of the nine coaches taking part in the course which began on Monday and runs through to June 28.

The intensive AFC ‘C’ Certificate programme covers numerous elements relating to women’s football but the participants still found enough time to play a half-hour match against their counterparts from the AFC Referee Talent Acceleration Programme that is also being held during the inaugural AFC U-13 Girls Festival of Football.

Led by AFC Instructor and former Hong Kong international Chan Shuk Chi, the coaches ran out 3-1 winners although the referees claimed there was more than a hint of offside about the second goal.