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The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) dedication to raising the standards of women’s football in Asia was further underlined at the 2nd AFC Women’s Football Conference 2019, which successfully ended in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, November 21.
The three-day conference, with more than 70 participants from the AFC Member Associations, covered various important topics including key case studies from expert speakers from FIFA and UEFA who shared insights, ideas and future plans for the sport.
The 2nd AFC Women’s Football Conference started on a lively note with the keynote session themed ‘Dare to Dream’ setting the tone before FIFA shared its blueprint on women’s football development in Asia.
The second day continued with participants receiving valuable knowledge from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 which covered the European perspective and their success in the competition.
Maymol Rocky, who made Indian football history in 2017 after she was appointed as the country’s first-ever female women’s national team head coach said, “This conference has been a great opportunity to learn from the best but above all, the quality of content and conversations has been hugely beneficial.”
The former national player and AIFF women’s age-groups coach who is playing a key role in the country’s preparation when it hosts the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – India, added, “One of the most encouraging takeaways for me has been the manner in which Asia has progressed in the women’s game.”
“As we have seen in India, women’s football is now given greater priority – from nutrition, infrastructure to quality coaching – all areas of development have grown significantly and the future of the women’s game in Asia is brighter than ever.”
The conference concluded with the big interview with six-time AFC Women’s Coach of The Year and Japan women’s national team head coach Asako Takakura, who shared extensively on her experience of coaching the national side and the challenges she faced.
Soleen Al-Zoubi, Head of Women’s Football from the Jordan Football Association, who also sits on the AFC Women’s Football Committee, said, “This Conference has been vital in providing insights on the latest trends and shifts in women’s football. The women’s game is moving so quickly across Asia and in world football, and my hope is to see this Conference held annually.”
“Women’s football has grown incredibly – even since the last Conference and this is evident through the diversity of Member Associations represented here. Asia is quickly becoming leaders of the game and for Jordan, we are inspired to emulate the success of the Continent’s best on the world stage.”
“We have collected so many ideas and identified several areas for improvement, particularly in technical development, which we plan to include as part of our larger strategy for women’s football in Jordan,” added the former Jordanian international, who has been involved in the game since 2005.
