Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bishkek: The AFC Women’s Assistance Programme’ second project has kicked off in Kyrgyzstan with a successful development visit to the capital city from August 24 to 27 aimed at taking the women's game in the Central Asian nation higher.
The visit kicked off simultaneously with the opening ceremony of the Nadezhda Cup in Bishkek on August 24 in which Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and two teams from Kyrgyzstan took part, with the host's first team emerging champions of the competition held at the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic (FFKR) Football Centre.
The AFC delegation for the visit consisted of AFC Technical Committee’s Co-opted Member Fan Yunjie, AFC Technical Division’s Head of Women’s Development Julie Teo and UEFA Consultant Dr. Michele Cox (under the AFC-UEFA MoU).
Over the four-day visit, the delegation met and held discussions with FFKR President Semetei Sultanov, General Secretary Dastanbek Konokbaev, Technical Director Kenichi Yatsuhashi, Women’s Football Administrator Algerim Salbralieva, Kyrgyzstan Deputy Minister of Sport Shalpykov Baktybek, national and regional coaches, national team players, members of the media and also FIFA Grassroots Consultant Aliaksandr Tchernoukho who was in Bishkek to supervise the Nadezhda Cup.
“FFKR President Semetei Sultanov and General Secretary Dastanbek Konokbaev have pledged their support to develop women’s football in the Kyrgyz Republic,” Teo told The-AFC.com. “Sultanov also officiated at the awards ceremony of the Nadezhda Cup and was pleased with the passion and standard of play shown by the Central Asian women’s teams during the competition.”
Resulting from the assessment of the status of women’s football in the Kyrgyzstan, the AFC delegation was pleased with FFKR’s plans to start a grassroots programme and to promote girls’ football in schools which was non-existent in the country to date.
“The first step to this is a FIFA grassroots course in November this year followed by three courses to be conducted in different regions each year,” Teo explained. “A local ‘D’ coaching certificate course will also be conducted in October this year.
“FFKR will also participate in the AFC U-14 Girls’ Regional Championship in 2014 for the first time and preparations for the U-14 team will include two training camps. The AFC delegation’s meeting with the Deputy Minister of Sport has also paved the way for a stronger link between the Ministry and FFKR on the domestic women’s football calendar.
“FFKR will also work with identified pilot project schools to gradually start girls’ football in schools. Also, the current pool of qualified women coaches will be mentored by the FFKR Technical Director and they will be developed through necessary courses.
“Overall, the visit has been an extremely fruitful and valuable,” concluded Teo.
Fan and Dr. Cox, who are formerly internationals, were also able to interact with the young players and impart their knowledge to them. Fan conducted a mini-clinic on the rest day of the competition for two Kyrgyz Republic national teams (senior and U-19). This was a rare opportunity for the young players to meet with former professional players. The AFC delegation was also impressed by some promising players in the Kyrgyz Republic national women’s team.
The AFC delegation was also able to meet with the media to encourage them to support and promote women’s football in the country.
The WAP programme was introduced to the MAs as a development tool that aims to customise development programmes according to their level of women’s football and needs. WAP’s first project was in Bhutan which started in July.