Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Hanoi: Vietnam Football Federation’s grassroots partner Football for All in Vietnam has received approval be part of FIFA’s ‘Football for Hope Programme Support’.
The approval is a huge step forward as it means not only a big raise for their budget next year but also an official recognition by FIFA, Football for All in Vietnam (FFAV)’s official website states.
“In the world of football, that’s a prestigious seal of quality,” ffav.com.vn says. “With this funding support from Football for Hope, FFAV will increase its outreach to more disadvantaged children and youth in the social centres and to increase the life skills elements in all project activities.”
FFAV Director Anders Krystad is upbeat with the recognition from the world’s football governing body and hopes the development opens more opportunities for grassroots football in the ASEAN nation.
“It is such fantastic news for FFAV and everyone involved in the project,” Krystad said. “All our hard efforts have now been rewarded by this acknowledgement from FIFA. We are very happy not only for the money but also for the fact that FIFA looks at us and sees that we are worthy of the support.
“I think everyone from the staff, partners and clubs should be proud of themselves and the job they have done to make this possible. We really hope this will be the opening of more support from commercial companies.”
FFAV was initiated after a meeting between the Presidents of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Football Association of Norway (NFF) in 1997. A MoU between VFF and NFF appointed FFAV as grassroots advisor fully utilising the organisation’s more than 10 years of experience in developing grassroots football in Vietnam.
Football for Hope supports programmes all over the world that combine football and social development. This includes funding and equipment, as well as projects that offer training, capacity building and know-how exchange on topics such as monitoring and evaluation, curriculum development and communication.
The latest development in Vietnam augurs well with the AFC Grassroots Year 2013 aptly themed ‘Let’s Play!’, where Member Associations are encouraged to organise activities to promote and emphasise that football is accessible and socially beneficial to everyone and that a strong foundation will allow players to progress to the elite level.
Photo: FFAV.com.vn