Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Singapore: Representatives from the Asian Football Confederation, the English Premier League and several of the AFC’s Member Associations, with their leagues and clubs, held a successful knowledge transfer workshop in Singapore on Thursday.
The workshop, which was organised on the sidelines of the ongoing Barclays Asia Trophy 2015, saw the Premier League and three of its clubs – Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City - share their expertise in the areas of communications, sales and marketing, and community development as well joint discussions on furthering the work of One Goal, which works towards better nutrition for children across Asia.
The workshop and networking event was delivered as part of the Mutual Cooperation Agreement that the Premier League and the AFC signed in March 2014, when the two organisations agreed to work closely to achieve mutual objectives.
Commenting on the importance of the workshop, and the collaboration between the AFC and the Premier League, AFC Acting General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “I would like to thank the English Premier League for having organised this event, and for inviting the AFC and its Member Associations, leagues and clubs.
“We all hope to learn a lot from the Premier League and its clubs. The key question for us is how, whilst adapting what we learn to the local context throughout the continent, to use the huge interest in English football and European football to further develop Asian football,
“Whilst many of our leagues and clubs are already very advanced in the areas of communications, sales and marketing, and community development, we always strive to improve. We believe there remains untapped potential throughout Asia and with your assistance; we hope to turn that potential into reality.”
Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore added: "The Premier League delivers on its part of the Mutual Cooperation Agreement with the AFC in a number of ways: through the Premier Skills coach and referee courses we run across the region, hosting league and association study visits to the UK, and through knowledge transfer workshops, such as the one we ran in Singapore this week.
"The Barclays Asia Trophy served as an ideal backdrop to the workshops, and we were thrilled to see how many delegates from across the AFC landscape chose to take part. It is also very heartening that so many reported back positively on what they took from the sessions. We look forward to delivering further on the Agreement."
The workshop was developed to reflect the current strategic focus of the AFC, which is to make football more competitive across Asia, to build fan engagement and to enable its Member Associations to develop and professionalise their leagues and clubs in several aspects.
Among the topics discussed were the best means to optimise communication channels/platforms for fan engagement; the importance of strategic media partnerships; an explanation of the Premier League commercial model; sponsorship activation and merchandising; the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility investment and the importance of connecting with communities.
Photo: Getty Images