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Joined by its Member Associations, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) celebrated another edition of the AFC Women’s Football Day through fun-filled activities designed to help young girls discover the joy of playing football.
Join AFC Media as they highlight the activities undertaken by the Confederation’s MAs in their bid to promote and develop girls/women’s football throughout Asia.
Brunei Darussalam
Over 100 young girls flocked to the University of Brunei Sports Hall when the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (FABD) celebrated the annual AFC Women’s Football Day in March 2023.
Led by the Women’s Football Division of the FABD, the event included a variety of events for both youngsters and adults, with one of the major attractions being a futsal league comprising 15 matches that was organised for those above 18 years of age.
The event which was celebrated in tandem with the International Women’s Day, witnessed women players, referees, coaches, medical staff, across all age-groups join in the day long festivities which concluded with tokens of appreciation being distributed to the participants.
Guam
After a hiatus of two years, the Guam Football Association (GFA) collaborated with the Japan Football Association, and non-profit organisations such as the Guam Cancer Care and Victims Advocate Reaching Out (VARO), to stage a grand return of the AFC Women’s Football Day in March 2023.
One of the many highlights of the celebrations includes the Sugar and Spice Middle School Girls Soccer Festival which welcomed over 200 girls from 12 schools to participate in a friendly tournament that drew a crowd of over 500 spectators.
A friendly match comprising mothers and daughters was also organised where each participating member also donated goods to help victims of domestic abuse.
Over the course of the month, a number of activities were organised by the GFA including regional school competitions such as the Guam Football Association Cup Challenge Girls High School Tournament, which was hosted at the GFA Training Centre.
The celebrations were attended by eminent personalities such as the GFA Women’s Committee Chairperson Tina Esteves as well as other committee members, namely, Kelley Barnhart and Jean Cepeda.
Hong Kong
Commemorating the AFC Women’s Football Day 2023, the Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited (HKFA) organised the Jockey Club Women’s Youth Football Tournament 2022-2023 which saw the participation of over 1100 children between the ages of six and 12.
While children in the U-6 and U-8 categories played 3-a-side games, the U-10 and U-12 participants took part in 5-a-side and 7-a-side matches respectively. The referees for these matches were selected from the HKFA’s U-14 and U-16 teams as well as volunteers from the Social Inclusion team.
Several distinguished guests were in attendance at the tournament with the likes of the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Women’s Football Committee, Josephine Lee and FIFA Club Licensing Consultant, Andres Portabella, distributing prizes as the tournament drew to an end.
To inculcate the spirit of sportsmanship at a young age, the festival introduced a unique tradition of the children themselves nominating the best players from their teams, who were awarded an additional medal.
India
In India, 14 Football Associations at the state-level came forward to celebrate the AFC Women’s Football 2023 across the length and breadth of the country, with almost 3000 participants.
The event was organised in a manner that allowed participation for individuals of various age groups, ranging from children in the U-6 category to women over 40 years old, ensuring that everyone had an activity they could engage in.
While the key attractions of the festival were the friendly matches and futsal sessions, the programme also included workshops, football clinics and activities promoting wellness and inclusivity.
With over 2600 players and 250 coaches and trainers, the various initiatives under the programme were divided into the categories of children’s football (6-12 years), youth football (13-18 years), senior’s football (18 years and above), amateur football (18 years and above), and veteran’s football (40 years and above).
Indonesia
In the Central Java region of Indonesia, the U12 Festival was organised to celebrate the AFC Women’s Football Day 2023 which aimed to promote women’s football and provide a platform for young girls in the region to showcase their talent.
As part of the festivities, a tournament was hosted at the Wisesa Soccer Field, Semarang, where girls under the age of 12, divided into eight teams, participated in a friendly tournament.
The event was marked by a high turnout of players as well as spectators, including the likes of Souraiya Farina, General Secretary of Indonesia Women’s Football Association (ASBWI) and several other members of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).
The success of the festival has further encouraged the organisers and external stakeholders to device plans to conduct more activities for girls and women in the region.
Japan
The Japan Football Association (JFA), in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd., celebrated the AFC Women’s Football Day 2023 through “The JFA Magical Field Inspired by Disney -Family Football Festival ‘First Touch’” project which was conducted over a course of 18 days across the country.
With the help of the JFA’s app, “JFA Passport”, over 720 participants made up of 361 families registered for the event which was specially curated to help families participate together.
Under the theme of “One step and the World will expand”, the festival included several activities that were designed to instill a life-long love for the beautiful game among young girls.
Kyrgyz Republic
Friendly competitions for girls between the ages of 10 and 12 were organised across the Kyrgyz Republic to observe the AFC Women’s Football Day 2023.
A total of 45 teams, comprising 670 girls, from the regions of Bishkek, Osh, Batken, Jalal-Abad, Talas, Naryn, and Issyk-Kul, took part in the tournaments where each region was represented by at least six teams.
Following the end of the tournaments, all participants were awarded exciting prizes, while special rewards were presented to the best goalkeepers, best players, and best goalscorers of each region.
Lebanon
The Lebanese Football Association celebrated the 2023 edition of the AFC Women’s Football Day by organising various activities in different provinces across Lebanon.
The first event saw girls in the U-12 category from eight schools compete in a tournament in the city of Ghazieh in South Lebanon whereas in the northern part of the country, an open football festival was orgranised for almost 100 girls who were taught basic football skills.
Meanwhile, in the city of Nabatieh, nine academies joined hands to conduct a highly successful 7-a-side tournament. The event garnered widespread appreciation from parents as well as the children as it not only allowed girls to play football in a secure environment but also gave them the opportunity to meet and form bonds of friendship with children from different parts of the city.
Macau
The Macau Football Association (AFM)’s celebration of the AFC Woman’s Football Day 2023 saw more than 250 girls take part in small-sided games and spend a day filled with enjoyable activities at the Bosco Sports Center.
The opening ceremony of the festival was attended by several dignitaries such as the Director of Macau Sports Bureau, Pun Weng Kun, Vice Chairman of the AFM, Chong Coc Veng, and AFM President, Lai Pak Leng.
One part of the festival was dedicated to grassroots and family-oriented activities where the participants, mostly parents and children, took part in fun drills and a 5-a-side tournament.
Another exciting part of the celebrations included a 3v3 Women’s Rookie Game where players from opposing teams were substituted every 10 minutes.
Finally, the organisers distributed souvenirs to all participants as tokens of appreciation and to encourage girls to keep playing football.
Northern Mariana Islands
The AFC Women’s Football Day 2023 was a grand affair in the Northern Mariana Islands as over 200 teenage girls and women coaches, referees, officials, and players gathered at the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Training Center to promote women’s football in the region.
The main highlight of the festival was a 3v3 single elimination tournament where each match lasted 20 minutes. The competition, which required teams to register beforehand, was highly enjoyable and drew large crowds.
The event also included a carnival comprising stations to teach children the fundamental aspects of the sport in a fun and engaging way, which was particularly interesting for children playing football for the first time.
Qatar
Celebrating the efforts of women in Asian football, the Qatar Women’s Sports Committee collaborated with highly-esteemed academies such as the Al Sadd Academy, Champions Academy, Elite Academy, Future Academy, Paris Saint-Germain Academy, and the Qatar Foundation Academy, to commemorate the AFC Women’s Football Day 2023.
Two tournaments for girls in the categories of U-14 and U-16 were organised where seven of the nine referees in charge were also women.
Approximately 100 girls took part in the competition with Elite Academy winning the U-14 tournament while the champions of the U-16 contest were the Paris Saint-Germain Academy.
Vietnam
Attended by esteemed guests such as the Chairman of Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Women’s Football Committee and the VFF General Secretary, the VFF hosted the annual celebration of the AFC Women’s Football Day at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Centre.
Over 100 members of the Vietnam football community, including players and coaching staff of local clubs, took part in the festivities to spread the message of fair-play and pledged to work towards further developing women’s football in Vietnam.
The VFF also underlined its support for the women’s youth teams in the country by distributing football equipment in order for them to develop their training facilities and enhance the performance of the players.
