Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nanjing, China: The three-day AFC Dream Asia Fest for Girls on the sidelines of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in Nanjing, China, ended Saturday.
The fest ended in a gala designed and initiated by the 40 underprivileged girls who took part in the fest which aimed at empowering them with self confidence, life skills and healthy lifestyles.
The girls who took to the stage on Saturday afternoon were happy and full of confidence in front of each other as well as officials from AFC, Chinese Football Association (CFA), China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) and Jiangsu FA.
Earlier in the day the girls participated in their last fun-filled football training session, declaring their love for the game while playing fairly and respecting each other. Many of them have developed a new interest in football.
Their teachers vowed to continue the football training in school as they can see the positive effects that the game has had on the girls.
The girls also had an opportunity to mingle with renowned footballers such as Chinese national women’s goalkeeping coach Gao Hang and players, as well as the Thai U-16 national women’s players during the fest.
AFC, CFA and CSCLF are committed to running similar events for underprivileged communities throughout China in the future.
During a meeting between the three parties on Thursday a follow-up event was discussed for next year.
AFC under the leadership of Acting President Zhang Jilong is pleased with the outcome of the event and looks forward to expanding similar initiatives to run on the sidelines of other AFC competitions throughout Asia.