Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: The first AFC Futsal Club Licensing and Planning Workshop has been successfully held in the Japanese capital of Tokyo with representatives from 12 clubs, F.League administration and local Football Associations in attendance.
The workshop organising AFC/UEFA team was welcomed by Chairman of the Futsal Committee of the Japan Football Association (JFA) Yasuhiro Matsuzaki.
“It’s a great honour for me on behalf of JFA to welcome the AFC/UEFA delegation to Japan for the AFC Futsal Club Licensing and Planning Workshop,” he said. “The Club Licensing System has been already adopted for the further development of the F.League, thanks to the leadership of AFC. We know what the club licensing system in general is and it helps a lot for the sound and professional development of futsal as well as football leagues.”
“However, it’s still vague for us so far since we do not know the detailed criteria and the AFC’s policies to implement the system. Therefore, this occasion is a very big step for us to proceed in the right way and an enormous improvement for Japan’s futsal. I am convinced that the AFC workshop will enhance us for a brighter future of the game in Japan.”
Ali Targholizadeh, Head of AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Development, commented: “This is our first step from the second phase of the AFC Futsal Development Programme following assessment visits across Asia. I’d like to thank UEFA for supporting AFC to raise the standard of futsal with Spain Professional Futsal League President Javier Lozano and Alexander Kochetkov from Dina Moscow Futsal Club, a former UEFA Futsal Cup champion, among the instructors in this workshop.
“The Futsal Club Licensing system will have been introduced to 18 top Asian futsal countries by end of 2016. Aside from club licensing, we will have benchmarks based on the Spain Professional Futsal League which is recognised as one of the best futsal leagues in the world while Dina Moscow is a role model for futsal clubs. The three-day workshop was a significant step towards Asian futsal professionalisation and standardisation.”
The other instructors in workshop were Targholizadeh and AFC Head of Football Club Licensing Mahajan Vasudevan Nair. After the workshop, the AFC/AFC team led by Targholizadeh met with staff from the various futsal-related departments of the JFA, F.League administration and futsal club managers.