In the opening address for the event which has been held since 2015, Shaik Salman praised the MFF President and AFC Vice President Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar for the progress that Mongolian football has made under his leadership.

A total of 120 Physical Education (PE) teachers from Arkhangai, Khuvsgol, Gobi- Altai, Darkhan, Sukhbaatar and Dornod attended the two-day grassroots workshops, which comprised training sessions and were also graced by national team players.

Held on December 12 every year since the first edition was hosted in Ulaanbaatar in 2015, the Golden Ball recognises the stars in 10 categories – Female Player of the Year; Male Player of the Year; Futsal Player of the Year; Referee of the Year; Women’s Coach of the Year, Male Coach of the Year; Futsal Coach of the Year, Goal of the Year; Best Team of the Year and the President’s Award.

Supported by the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA as well as former football stars such as Louis Saha and Peter Schmeichel, the Golden Ball has always been the highlight of the Mongolian football year and despite the challenges of COVID-19 in 2020, MFF was determined not to be deterred.

Hence, the Golden Ball Awards 2020 is going to be hosted in a virtual and interactive way as well as being screened by local Mongolian Sport TV, SPS TV, which will host the event from station. All nominees will attend online.

To join the Golden Ball at 6pm (GMT +8 on December 12, 2020), please click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/76264273459949

The deal includes all major AFC national team and club competitions, including but not limited to the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup from the 2021 season, the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 and the AFC U23 Asian Cup Finals 2022 and 2024.

The proposal to build a football pitch was initiated in 2018 and supported by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President and AFC Dream Asia Foundation patron Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, after tragedy struck when an 11-year-old male student tragically died after a goalpost fell on him.

The AFC President congratulated all concerned in the opening ceremony on August 31, 2020, saying: “The new pitch at School 79 shows that the Asian Football Confederation lives up to its promise to make a significant difference to communities across the Continent.

"Every Mongolian loves these sports," the 31-year-old Mongolia captain told FIFA.com. "The Mongolian kids grow up by wrestling with each other and I was one of them."

In collaboration with the Mongolian Football Federation (MFF), the workshop was conducted by Desmond Corkhill, who is the Head of Broadcast of the Malaysian Football League and a former commentator for ESPN Star, Bein Sports and Eurosport, over two days for two different groups of 12 participants.