119 participants from 38 Member Associations (MAs) joined the AFC Emotions in Football Workshop on Tuesday, March 22 as the Japan Football Association (JFA) and the Qatar Football Association (QFA) presented their comprehensive activities and future action plans.
The JFA and QFA are the first pilot MAs to implement the new AFC’s Emotions in Football Project that was launched last year to study how emotions can affect the performances of players and their personal well-being.
JFA’s Takeshi Ono, who is part of the AFC Emotions in Football Working Group, presented their activities which includes forming a JFA Emotions Project Task Force, comprising members from women’s football, youth development, coach education and grassroots football.
An Advisory Group for Customisation was also formed, consisting current national team (men’s and women’s) head coaches as well as players. Additionally, the ‘Master of Your Emotions’ textbook was translated into Japanese to help players and coaches understand the subject better.
He further elaborated how educational materials on emotions was created and introduced in A-License Courses and Tutor’s Courses.
Similarly, participants also gained insights from another AFC Emotions in Football Working Group member, Maria Ruiz de Ona from the Qatar Aspire Academy, who shared the ways in which they took a more personal approach when managing the emotions of players.
Key elements in the Qatar programme include mentoring and creating a learning environment for players. She further elaborated how having one-to-one conversation between coach-to-player and player-to-player can create a positive impact.
The session continued with an engaging interview with AFC Emotions in Football Working Group member, Mark Milton, who covered topics related to why football coaches should explore the subject of emotions. He further explained how MAs together with key people within the organisation can implement the programme.