Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
In a bid to further strengthen the capabilities of its Member Associations (MAs), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the 3rd AFC Coach Education Panel meeting on Thursday.
Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the panel, composed of coach education specialists, met to exchange information and discuss strategies for the collective enhancement of coach education across the Confederation’s members.
Underlining the potential positive effects of the AFC Coaching Convention, Roxburgh said: “Being endorsed by the AFC Coaching Convention offers a number of valuable benefits such as the free movement of qualified coaches across Asia which in turn, has long-term developmental impact on the national teams as well as professional clubs on the Continent.”
Before the panellists delved into extensive discussions on ways to make the AFC’s MAs have a stable and self-sufficient system, they received updates on the status of the AFC Coaching Convention which currently endorses 41 members.
Following the update, goals for the remainder of the year, such as increasing the overall number of endorsed MAs to 43, growing the number of Pro-level members from 10 to 16, and delivering more C-license courses, were also set.
A key topic of discussion was focused on the B and A Elite-Youth Diploma courses that are set to be launched later this year which will specialise in developing and coaching talented young players in transitioning from grassroots and amateur to the elite level, and from elite to professional level, respectively.
In line with the AFC’s Vision and Mission of establishing football as the number one sport on the Continent, the experts went on to discuss the many ways in which Coach Education can be calibrated in Asia. Some of the key takeaways of the constructive dialogue included the need to consistently improve the existing core programmes and introduce more regional courses for coach educators.
Calling for a united effort towards ensuring the success of Asian teams on the global stage, the panel also drew attention to the many ways in which the AFC’s inspiring MAs can extend helping hands towards the developing and aspiring MAs.
“To develop standards of coach education and professional football on a Continental level is complicated and it needs to be done slowly and systematically.
“The AFC exists to support its MAs and we will provide guidance at every step as we embark on the process of refining our assets until our core programmes reach global standards,” added Roxburgh in his closing remarks.
