Riyadh hosts the conference of member association and regional association general secretaries in AFC

2022-01-12
13:48:46

Riyadh hosts the Asian football family in one of the largest forums of the continent, as the Conference of General Secretaries of the Local and Regional Associations in Asia will be held, which is the first time that the conference is held outside the headquarters of the AFC.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the conference which will be hosted by the Saudi capital from January 13-15, will start with the participation of elite football experts in Asia and the world.

For his part, the President of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, Yasser Al Misehal, welcomed the participating delegations, stressing the keenness of the SAFF to harness all its components for the benefit of Asian and international football in partnership with effective leaders, especially in the national federations that the Saudi Federation has sought to strengthen ways of cooperation with, Which contributes to the development of football on the continent.

Al Misehal valued the great interest of the wise leadership in the sports sector in general and football in particular, which resulted in hosting this major event for the first time outside the headquarters of the AFC, praising the full support and interest that the SAFF finds from His Highness, Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal.

The conference aims to enhance the spirit of partnership between the AFC and the national and regional associations, and this conference provides a platform to establish a fruitful dialogue, facilitates knowledge exchange, encourages the application of best practices, which helps to strengthen the national and regional associations and lays the foundation for making the Asian football family more vibrant.

The conference includes several sessions inaugurated by Dato' Windsor John, AFC General Secretary, which will address the AFC's commitment to promoting development programs in national and regional federations, according to the vision of the Continental Confederation.

After that, a session will be held during which the long-term outcomes will be highlighted, by discussing creating a culture of education for the development of the next generation of Asian football leaders, as it will be presented by Inter Aizal, CEO of Kleinman Wang Foundation.

During the first day, participants will have the opportunity to develop their abilities during a session about the value of team management and talent development, as it will be presented by Coin Pat, Co-Founder and CEO of Double Pass foundation.

On the second day, a lecture on global development will be presented by Hisham El Amrani, former CAF Secretary General, CEO and founder of HIA Sports Management and Consulting, which will focus on African-Asian cooperation.

The second day will also witness a presentation by Wahid Kordani, AFC Deputy Secretary-General for National Associations, who will talk about the AFC's development programs, pioneering policies for good governance, the recently launched AFC Academy of Excellence, and the commitment of Continental Federation in Social Responsibility Programs, then Razvan Burliano, Member of the UEFA Council and President of the Romanian Football Association, talks about the UEFA Aid Program.

Dorian Esterer, CEO of Football Works Academy, Academic Partner of the AFC, talks about the importance of the process of continuing learning, before Alex Phillips, former director of Asian-European relations at UEFA, talks about Asia's ability to close the gap with European football.

On the closing day, Ibrahim Al Kassim, Secretary-General of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, and Jürgen Griesbeck, co-founder of the Common Goal Foundation, will speak about the ability of football to create a positive legacy in marginalized communities.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn about ways to develop marketing and branding in national and regional associations, as Marketing Consultant Geoff Wilson, former Director of Marketing and Communications at the Irish Football Association, will talk about that, then Shane Mann-Gill, AFC Deputy Secretary-General, Football will talk about the future of competitions in the Asian Football Confederation.

The Saudi vision for the future of football in the continent will have a strong presence at the conference, during the third day, during which the Secretary-General of the SAFF, Ibrahim Al Kassim will speak about the Kingdom’s visions for developing football in Asia and what the SAFF has accomplished in documenting cooperation with local federations in the continent and the AFC Which contributes to the development of the game.