The next phase of the 40-day virtual programme, which commenced today (September 19, 2020), will bring the total number of Member Associations engaged to 43.

More than 60 Youth Social Responsibility Ambassadors will be empowered with innovative and educational opportunities through which they can engage with fellow players and establish a network to support development post COVID-19.

In the latest edition of the AFC’s GameChangers series – which tells inspiring stories from women’s football in Asia – we meet the 23-year-old whose passion has taken her from northern Pakistan to Paris and Milan; and for whom the game provides a window to so much more.

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.

Park, who captained Korea Republic and played for Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven in Europe, won 19 titles but sees defeating racism as his next major challenge in what has been a stellar career.

The UAE Pro League is the first governing body in the Middle East to launch a Child Safeguarding programme in May which focuses on preventing any risk of harm to children in football and increasing awareness of children safety and protection within clubs.

The virtual workshop featured guest speakers from leading organisations including Head of Safeguarding at FIFA, Kathryn Leslie and a representative from the recently-formed AFC Safeguarding Unit.

Major Abdulrahman Al Tamimi of the UAE Ministry of Interior Child Protection Centre, the UAE Football Association Technical Director Michel Sablon and Callum Irving, a leading youth development Consultant, also joined the discussions.

The two-month long programme, which will also enlist the assistance of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Football for All in Vietnam (FFAV), SOS Children’s Villages Vietnam as well as FCSA’s partners, Bundesliga club SV Werder Bremen, will engage more than 30 young adults and coaches from different regions in Vietnam.

The latest course has been built on the strong foundations of the highly-successful 2018/2019 Young Coach Education programme in Hue and Ben Tre in Vietnam where 33 young adults were trained to become leaders and role models for the youth in their communities and is now benefitting more than 2,000 children.