BFF celebrates its Grassroots Day on November 11 each year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Fourth King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk.

The AFC Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations (MAs) to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes. It identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, fairplay, partnerships and personal development.

This AFC grassroots endorsement programme is offered at three levels - bronze, silver and gold. At the entry level (bronze), the emphasis is on mass participation. The next level (silver) focuses on increased levels of quality, and at the highest level (gold), the endorsed members will set the benchmark for grassroots development.

Japan’s Eiichiro Matsuki received the Best Grassroots Leader award while Paro FC from Bhutan and ISF Football Programme were conferred the Best Grassroots Club and Best Grassroots Project accolades respectively.

Meanwhile, full-time teacher Chan Shuk Chi of Hong Kong, who is an AFC-KFA Pro-Diploma license coach and current Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) U12 Girls’ team head coach, was named the Youth Coach of the Year (Female) in the award ceremony.

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 FAM and PFA respectively.

The Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations (MA) to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes. It identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, structure, long-term planning and partnerships, with PFF excelling in all criteria.

The importance of grassroots development is deeply rooted in the PFF across its 40 regional member associations where the focus on promoting and developing can be found in all levels of its football structure.

PFF and its regional FAs have various Grassroots competitions in place for the different age categories as well as women's football development to promote the game across the country.

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 KFA.

Turambekar emerged from humble beginnings in a small village in Kolhapur, India but her rapid rise in the sport has truly been commendable. Determined to chase her dreams, the diminutive Turambekar reflects on the challenges she faced as a child and how it has inspired her to promote the sport at the grassroots level.

“My parents are farmers and I had no sports background. I used to help my parents on the farm but at the same time, I developed an interest in sports. In high school, I noticed that girls were playing football and that’s when I started to enjoy playing the sport.

“I come from a conventional family and it was very stressful to work on a farm and do house chores while focusing on my studies. So, football helped me forget everything,” said the physical education graduate.