A total of 216 players participated in the competition for young men and women with hearing disabilities in Cambodia, using funding received by ISF following their AFC Dream Asia Award as the NGO of the Year.

The Dream Asia recognition acknowledged ISF’s initiatives in Cambodia where they provide the widest-reaching grassroots football programme in the country. The project is in line with the AFC Dream Asia Foundation’s key pillars of social inclusion and programmes for youths.

The ongoing initiatives started on November 30, last year and will end in September 2019 and have also included working with the JAAGO Foundation to provide football training for street children in Dhaka which ran from November 30 to December 3.

Then the initiative for Rohingya refugees started on December 4 and will run in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar, where there are almost 800,000 refugees, will now run until December 10.

The friendly is part of the character education carried out under Phase 1 of the AFC-UNHCR Programme, that also comprises competitions, with the aim offering learning experience for the children to play with an external team in a match officiated by professional referees.

The children’s football skills and behaviour were observed throughout the match, to identify if the children had absorbed the knowledge and lessons taught in the programme. 

Furthermore, it also served as an opportunity for the children to visit the city.

Kumamoto Renaissance, playing in the first division of the Regional Women’s League in Japan, lost its home ground due to the earthquake which led the AFC to make a 300,000USD donation to the Japan Football Association (JFA) for assistance. Some 50 people lost their lives in the series of two earthquakes which hit the country, leaving around 3,000 people injured and more than 44,000 evacuated from their homes.

It was possible to start the construction in the badly affected area only towards the end of last year. The construction is likely to be finished by the end of this year.

The new ground will be located in Kosa Town in the Kamimashiki District in Kumamoto. It will consist of a natural grass pitch funded by the AFC which will be complimented by an adjoining artificial grass pitch funded by Kosa Town. The town is also providing the stadium floodlights and other necessary facilities, such as a parking lot.

The two-day seminar, themed ‘Empowering Women Through Football’, attracted 90 participants which included women coaches, high school sports teachers, representatives from local NGOs, national U-17 girls’ team as well as government representatives.

MFF General secretary Shijir Ulziikhuu, who opened the seminar, said: “I would like to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the AFC for assisting and facilitating in the organising of the seminar. 

"On behalf of the MFF President, the MFF will prepare its four-year social responsibility plan following AFC’s social responsibility guiding principles and I hope those participating today will play active roles in the seminar. I would also like extend my gratitude to the Football Association of England for providing training attires for the participants and the children.”

With assistance from the AFC Social Responsibility unit, CFA has continued to implement social development programmes using football as a compelling tool in China by collaborating with local clubs, non-governmental organisations (NGO), as well as international NGOs and government agencies.

The first day of the programme focused on providing 60 community coaches and representatives from NGOs practical and theoretical sessions, which followed the module of Character Education led by local instructors.

Shanghai Football Association President Zhu Guanghu, who gave the opening speech, applauded AFC for its continuous social responsibility activities across Asia, as well as in China.

He also thanked CFA for hosting the event and pledged to encourage clubs to engage in the community activities.

Gwendolyn Pang, the Project Manager of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Country Cluster Support Team, said the partnership with the AFC and CFA has been valuable.

Concurrently, Shanghai IFRC conducted a First Aid workshop for the participants, which was part of the AFC-IFRC collaboration.

The final day of the social responsibility programme was organised for 80 children, also at the Shanghai Sports School, with a variety of activities, such as a simplified First Aid demonstration and field activities that were assisted by student volunteers from Shanghai University.

CFA also donated 5,000 RMB to the China Administration of Sports for People with Disabilities, additionally, CFA partners Titan Sports and Vanke Group contributed in providing training attires and equipment.

The children had the chance to meet Shanghai Shenhua players and Chinese football legends, who motivated them to practice a healthy lifestyle by balancing their time with studies and sports.

The workshop is part of an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding between the AFC and SOAP to promote social inclusion through football in Asia, with the first taking place in Singapore for the ASEAN and South Member Associations, while this time welcoming participants from the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Solomon.

AFC Head of Social Responsibility Dr. Annathurai Ranganathan and Brian See from the AFC Competitions Department conducted the workshop, first introduced through the AFC Social Responsibility initiatives, before diving into the partnership and product packaging aspect, implementation and sustaining measures, as well as competition management and reporting procedures.

SOAP CEO Simon Koh thanked the AFC for the presentation and hoped the new knowledge gained by the sports leaders of Special Olympics enhances the competition level, including social responsibility matters related to the Special Olympics.

The workshop will serve as a great asset for the officials, who are preparing their national teams for the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates next March.