Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Football Federation coordinated a large scale Grassroots Festival which saw the participation of 154 children and 24 coaches on May 15 in Kabul.

The main objective behind the initiative was to share the love of football and assist the establishment of the U-12 league as well as the U-12 national team.

The children were divided into age groups and were taught the meaning of fair play, while the coaches were trained on how to deliver Grassroots instructions.

Bhutan

The Bhutan Football Federation saw an increase in participation with every passing celebration of the AFC Grassroots Football Day, and 2019 was no different as the festival took place in 19 districts in the South Asian country.

The larger community has also seen the positive changes and opportunities the festival has to offer, putting their trust in the Bhutan FF to look after a grand total of 2,025 boys, girls, special needs children and volunteers, who all learned important messages of fun, play, friendship and respect.

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The latest milestone also continues the trend of setting a new participation record every year since its inauguration in 2013 and further underlines the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) ambition, under its Vision and Mission, to confirm football as the most popular sport on the Continent.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “Each year, grassroots football in Asia continues to reach greater heights and set new milestones and I am pleased to note the AFC Grassroots Football Day 2019 will surpass all previous records.

“Developing the grassroots game forms the building blocks to bring the AFC’s Vision and Mission to life and credit must go to all our Member Associations for never failing to answer the clarion call to spread the reach of the game.

The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined our desire to confirm football as the number one sport in Asia and the grassroots game forms the building blocks to bring our ambitions to life.

Credit must go to all our Member Associations for never failing to answer the clarion call to spread the reach of the game. And it is only through this spirit of unity and solidarity that we continue to strengthen the foundations for football in Asia.

As the Continent’s governing body, our mandate is clear: We want to create conducive environments for everyone, people of all ages, regardless of their playing ability or background, with the opportunity to play.

And our commitment to grassroots football has never been stronger. Last year, we introduced the Grassroots Charter, which is already proving to be a game-changer in enhancing the quality and delivery of the movement and programmes across the Continent.

We now have 15 Member Associations endorsed under the Charter and I urge more Member Associations to come forward to embrace the Charter in the same way they have grown the popularity and scale of the AFC Grassroots Football Day.

We also introduced three new AFC Special Grassroots Awards in 2018 to celebrate our dedicated volunteers in Asia – the unsung heroes who work tirelessly every day to spread the joy of football.

Grassroots football must continue to uphold the principles of inclusiveness, instilling lifelong values and building character. It must always be fun, but it is also a serious business. For every superstar, the journey begins at the Grassroots and the livelihood of football depends on our ability to nurture the game for our future generations.

I would like to express my appreciation to all the AFC Member Associations who are organising activities in their countries this year. A special thank you is also extended to all our volunteers and parents for believing in the power of football.

I wish you all a successful and fulfilling AFC Grassroots Football Day!

The Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes.

It identifies 20 performance categories, such as grassroots competitions, fairplay, partnerships and personal development, which have all been met by MFF.

AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh elaborated on the meaning of grassroots football as well as the goal of the Grassroots Charter, saying: “Grassroots Football is the foundation of football and its primary purpose is to increase the level of interest and participation among the players, coaches, volunteers and organisers.

"The AFC Grassroots Charter is a dynamic tool to help MAs develop their grassroots programmes. The charter is also an endorsement programme which recognises and supports the MAs in their efforts to further develop their grassroots programmes in line with the criteria set by AFC.”

The panel members discussed the challenges and ways to further streamline the assessment process, as well as the strategy for the further development of the project.

AFC Grassroots manager Masahiro Sugiyama shared the latest news with the panel on the AFC President Recognition Award for Grassroots Football 2018 as well as the upcoming AFC Grassroots Football Day 2019, which will take place15 May, 2019.

LAOS FOOTBALL FEDERATION

In the past year, LFF has placed great emphasis in grassroots development through various activities, enriching the lives of over 1,654 children throughout the Southeast Asian country.

Programmes such as the LFF Out Reach, MA Holiday Course and MA Grassroots Football are in place with the Laos Ministry of Education and Sports & Provisional Department of Education as its main partners.