AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh opended the meeting by emphasising on the mission of the Grassroots Panel: “With the aim to increase the participation of grassroots, provide social inclusion, inspire young people as well as foster an interest in the sport, the AFC Grassroots Panel is committed to promote football at all levels regardless of their abilities and provide people with opportunities to play in a safe and enjoyable environment.”

A total of 14 panel members discussed the current situation of grassroots development in their countries before deliberating on key issues of the AFC Grassroots Charter and the challenges faced.

More than 7,900 boys and girls from diverse provinces of 12 states participated in the celebration which comprised interactive webinars, online games, online training sessions, social media quizzes, drawing competitions and other creative activities.

The AFC Grassroots Charter, which identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, structure and partnerships, continues to receive remarkable support across the Continent, with UFA becoming the sixth MA to receive the silver award, bringing the total number of MAs benefiting from the landmark development tool to 28 since its launch in 2017.

The UFA was recognised for driving a robust strategy aimed at player retention and developing regular annual programmes, competitions and festivals for players from as young as five, as part of efforts to grow the popularity and cultivating a lifelong passion for football.

The AFC Grassroots Charter is a development tool to support Member Associations (MA) to increase the quality of grassroots programmes. It identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, structure, promotional activities and partnerships, with TFF excelling in all the requirements.

With the aim of exponentially increasing the involvement of children and youth from all cities and districts, the TFF has been focusing on three key areas to develop grassroots football: players programmes, grassroots competitions and women's projects.

Held in collaboration with the Norway Football Federation (NFF), the workshop focused on both practical and theoretical aspects of football development, delving specifically into women’s coaching for grassroots football and explored ways to ensure a fun and engaging environment for aspiring footballers.

ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION

The AIFF has built a comprehensive grassroots development structure that covers a wide range of areas including competitions, futsal, youth development, coach education and fair play.

With the aim of exponentially increasing the interest in football, the AIFF has organised various grassroots activities ranging from U-6 to U-12 leagues, U-13 to U-18 leagues, Women’s championships and activities, AFC Grassroots Football Day and grassroots festivals.

The Toyota Grassroots Project 2020 was riding on the back of the highly-successful AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020, which saw Korea Republic clinch their first-ever title at the same venue the day before, also saw the involvement of Molten – the AFC’s Official Match Ball supplier.