Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) commitment to enhance the capability of its Member Associations (MA) reached another significant milestone on Thursday with the conclusion of the first-ever Football Administration Certificate (FAC) programme in Kuala Lumpur.
During the last nine months, a total of 18 participants from eight MAs in the East region have been participating in the landmark programme, aimed at developing football management skill-sets and providing participants with the latest management techniques and administration best practices.
In his opening remarks at the official graduation ceremony, AFC Development Committee Chairman H.E. Mohamed Khalfan Al Romaithi said: “The FAC has been designed to nurture the abilities of football administrators in the Continent and enhance the day-to-day operations of our MAs.”
“It demonstrates our belief, through the AFC’s Vision and Mission to strengthen the foundations for our MAs to achieve new benchmarks in governance and professionalism. Above all, it paves the way to develop world-class administrators, who will help bring to life our ambitions under the banner of One Asia, One Goal, to be the world’s leading Confederation.”
Specifically catered for future senior management of the AFC’s MAs, the FAC was designed in partnership with the renowned World Academy of Sport (WAoS) to focus on six core competencies: the organisation of world football, strategic management, revenue generation, media and communications as well as events and operations management. All 18 participants graduated, with 13 receiving merits and one awarded a distinction
Li Yik Kwan Marketing Manager at the Hong Kong Football Associatoin Ltd. said: “The last nine months have been an eye-opening experience for me. One of the biggest challenges for me was balancing my responsibilities in my MA as well as the comprehensive scope and deadlines of the programme.
“The FAC journey has given me greater confidence and expertise to implement progressive policies and programmes that will ensure the sustainable growth of football development in Hong Kong.”
Comprising distance-learning and three quarterly face-to-face seminars in Japan, Korea Republic and Malaysia, participants were required to undertake approximately 250 study hours and were appraised through numerous assessment criteria ranging from group presentations (teamwork), written tests (understanding of theory delivered), simulation activities (practical approach), oral examination (building of soft skills).
The FAC, which was made available to the AFC Member Associations in the East, will now be expanded to all AFC regions, with two simultaneous editions planned from July 2017.
Photo: AFC