Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Development Committee, which met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Malaysia’s HRH Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah, recommended to provide financial assistance to the Member Associations for the implementation of the Kick Off projects.
HRH Prince Abdullah welcomed the new members of the committee and hoped that their participation in the meeting would be productive.
He also asked to give more focus on funding for the projects in order to provide more benefits to the Member Associations to aid in their development.
The committee proposed to provide a financial incentive of US$20,000 per year for each of the projects in order to help the Member Associations in the implementation of the programme. AFC will also produce support material for the Member Associations, leagues and clubs.
The members were informed of the activities in the 16 Member Associations who have embraced the Kick Off programme.
Requests from four Member Associations – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon – to join the Kick Off programme were approved.
It was noted that there was a need to further enhance the programme and provide additional knowledge sharing opportunities. With this in mind the committee introduced the Kick Off Academy.
The first element of the Kick Off Academy will take place this year through organisation of regional seminars for senior management of clubs and leagues.
From 2015, the Academy will expand to include the introduction of the Kick Off Leaders Programme and the AFC Certificate in Football Management.
All decisions of this committee need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee to take effect.