Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: National coaches and technical directors from AFC Member Associations gathered at the 1st AFC National Coaches Conference 2015 which concluded successfully in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Wednesday.
The three-day event focused on how to bridge the gap between Asia and the world’s top teams.
Main conclusions included the need to create a pan-Asian coaching convention, which would raise coaching standards at all levels across the continent.
Another key topic was bridging the gaps that exist between teams in Asia, which, judging by recent results, has already started to happen. The conference also reviewed the recent AFC Asian Cup 2015, which was used as a reference point for discussions.
The participants were welcomed on behalf of the AFC by Kohzo Tashima, AFC Technical Committee Chairman and Dato’ Windsor John, AFC Acting General Secretary. Ange Postecoglou, the Australian national team coach, described to the conference how he took his team to AFC Asian Cup victory in January 2015.
AFC Acting General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “This is an important event for the further development of Asian football. The conference is a platform for sharing experiences and providing feedback, and the AFC is here to listen to the coaches, technical directors and experts to help us chart Asian football’s future together.”
AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh added: “Success in football can happen through chance or design. We prefer design. Four main elements that can create success are coach education, player development, technical exchange and intense competition.”
Former France national team coach and technical director Gérard Houllier spoke about the role of the technical director and national coaches Akram Salman from Iraq and Alain Perrin from China, with assistant coach of Korea Republic Shin Tae Yong, shared their views and experiences in the elite coaches forum.
German Football Association instructor and member of the Germany U-20 coaching staff Lars Isecke spoke about the German model of player development and the preparation of national teams on Thursday, and the conference finished with a debate on the future of Asian football. Refereeing and medical matters were also among the issues analysed during day two and day three of the event.