“We should give our full support and effort towards this assessment visit. I also believe there’s plenty of room for improvement in the development of futsal in Malaysia," said FAM General Secretary Stuart Michael Ramalingam.

AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Senior Development Officer Jacob Joseph Biggs emphasised the importance of futsal as the foundation of football and thanked FAM for its cooperation.

"The AFC feels strongly that Malaysia has excellent potential to succeed in the ASEAN region and I would like to thank FAM for their full cooperation and hospitality,” said Biggs.

Thimphu: Some 40 representatives from the Bhutan Football Federation (BFF), local media officers and club officials were introduced to the new President’s Initiative - the Live Streaming Platform - as part of the inaugural Media Management and Marketing Workshop which commenced in Bhutan today.

The new Live Streaming platform was presented by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s partner mycujoo, the company assigned to work with Member Associations (MA) to build their capabilities in live streaming. The new President’s Initiative was approved by the AFC Development Committee during the recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 15.

The BFF is the first-ever MA to benefit from the new scheme, which provides a user-friendly platform for MAs to stream live matches on their respective websites, league websites and social media channels. The mycujoo application also allows MAs to create a catalogue of matches, highlights, interviews and other content to promote leagues, youth and women’s football.

Encouraged by positive impact and prospect of the new President’s Initiative, BFF General Secretary, Ugyen Wangchhuk said: “This new live streaming is a game changer for football in Bhutan. Today, most of our live matches are limited to national team matches, but this programme opens the possibility for all matches and programmes to be broadcast live to our fans.

“In addition to expanding the reach of Bhutan football and exciting our fans, this new programme will also increase the value proposition of our competitions, programmes and events for our sponsors and commercial partners.”

Eleven participants with grassroots and youth team coaching backgrounds are taking part in the six-day course aimed at equipping coaches with the latest coaching methods and best practices.

Co-organised by Goa Youth Futsal Academy, GOA Football Association and the All India Football Federation, participants will go through practical, theoretical and practical exams to complete the course.

The seminar is aimed at empowering the development of Asian in line with the AFC’s Vision and Mission to be the best Confederation.

Fourteen participants from Australia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Jordan, Korea Republic, Iraq, Lebanon and Hong Kong are taking part in the 11-day seminar instructed by Spain’s Jesus Candelas and Ceasar Mendez.

“Futsal is a constantly developing sport and for the AFC, we are committed to offering our support and services, and these seminars are yet another initiative towards this cause.

"I would like to thank UEFA for appointing the speakers for this seminar and also for accepting us to observe the UEFA Futsal Champions League final, which will surely benefit the development of futsal in Asia,” said Ali Targholizadeh, Head of the AFC Futsal & Beach Soccer Development.

The six-day course brought together 15 participants from across the country with the aim of boosting their efficacy in delivering world-class coaching methods, to further develop the 5-a-side sport.  

FFT General Secretary Rovshen Kemjayev, who opened the ceremony, wished the participants a productive course and thanked the Sports Ministry of Turkmenistan and the Asian Football Confederation for assisting and organising the futsal course.

Chary Atayev, FFT Head of Technical Department, shared the same sentiments.

Dovletmyray Annayev, the course instructor, said: “I am truly thankful to FFT and the Sports Ministry of Turkmenistan for helping us organise the course which will improve the quality of futsal in our country.”

Hosted by North Bangkok University, the two-week course began on February 4 with Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand) Vice President Thanasak​ Suraprasert giving the opening remarks, where he wished the participants and instructors a fruitful course.

The course was divided into two main parts, with the first led by Futsal Conditioning Instructor Dr. Sadegh Amani from Islamic Republic of Iran, before two AFC Elite Futsal Coaching Instructors, Iran’s Dr Shahabeddin Sofalmanesh and  Tsang Wai Chung of Hong Kong, took over after the rest day.

Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand) Vice President Thanasak Suraprasert, who gave the opening speech, said: “It is a privilege for the FA Thailand to host this course and I also take this opportunity to welcome and thank the AFC instructors for coming to share knowledge and experience with the participants.

“Futsal has a strong foothold here, growing from strength to strength, and is continuing to develop as shown in the domestic futsal league.

“We hope this course will also inspire a generation of coaches for the game with the best coaching methods and philosophy, and to create better players.

“On this note, I take this opportunity to wish all of the participants a successful course, and enjoy your stay in Chonburi.”