Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s concerted efforts to raise the quality of coaching across the Continent were further outlined when the AFC Coach Education Panel met virtually on Thursday for its first meeting for the term 2024-25.
Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the meeting was an excellent opportunity for the panel members from across 15 Member Associations (MAs) to discuss ways of improving coaching standards in Asia.
Following Roxburgh’s opening remarks, the panellists were briefed on the latest updates on the AFC Coaching Convention, which currently endorses 43 of the Confederation’s MAs, comprising 16 Pro-Level members, 18 A-Level members, and nine B-Level members.
“With Asia being as diverse as it is, being part of the Convention helps in stimulating development and helps satisfy club licensing requirements,” said Roxburgh.
“Hence, we need MAs to constantly improve the core elements of their Coach Education programmes as it is imperative to establish thriving domestic environments across the length and breadth of the Continent and implement the necessary tools to prepare the next generation of coaches,” he added.
The experts then set out goals for the rest of the year, which included increasing the number of Pro-level members and updating the AFC Coaching Convention Regulations, while also glancing over the highlights of the previous year, most notably the AFC Coach Education Pro License Tutor Courses which were conducted in Thailand in 2023 under the guidance of renowned Coach Educator Vera Pauw and UEFA Instructor Ruud Dokter.
A major highlight of the meeting was the discussion centred around a recent bilateral meeting between the AFC and its sister Confederation UEFA on the plans to mutually recognise coaching qualifications and facilitate knowledge exchanges between coach educators and practicing coaches.
Additionally, with coach education being one of the key technical pillars of the Confederation, attendees were also updated on several landmark initiatives set to be introduced in the near future. These include collaborative initiatives between the AFC and its MAs, namely the Japan Football Association and the Qatar Football Association, as well as the AFC National Coaches Conference scheduled for May this year.
