The 4th AFC Coach Education Conference officially drew to an end on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where over 100 coach tutors and Technical Directors from all over Asia convened to discuss the latest developments and best practices in coach education.
With the theme of “Educating Tomorrow’s Coaches”, the event was marked by insightful lectures, workshops, interactive dialogues – all aimed towards achieving the collective goal of making football the number one sport on the Continent and ensuring the success of Asian teams at all levels on the biggest stages in the world.
Inaugurated by the AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John, the Conference proved to be an excellent platform for coaches to not only exchange ideas with their peers, but also provided an opportunity to raise awareness on the challenges faced in their respective Member Associations (MAs).
With the welfare of the future generations of footballers and coaches forming the central theme of the three-day long event, some of the key topics that were discussed included the need to focus on the leadership role of the coach as well as the developmental implications of the recently concluded FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The attendees at the Conference were also briefed on the AFC’s Coach Education Guidelines as well as the latest requirements of the AFC Coaching Convention – which aims to improve the level of coaches and instructors in a standardised manner across Asia.
The event also featured experts from the Japan Football Association (JFA), Qatar Football Association (QFA), and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) who presented valuable insights on the structures and pathways in place to produce more Pro-Licensed qualified coaches in their respective MAs.
The final day of the Conference saw participants benefiting from an informative lecture by FIFA's Head of Coaching and Player Development Branco Ujevic on the world governing body’s Coach Educators’ Programme before concluding with an engaging session on the ways to further elevate the standards of coach education across the Continent.
“In order to achieve a sustained positive impact on Asian clubs and national teams and to produce quality players, we need quality coaches, and we are grateful to the AFC’s Technical staff for providing its MAs with the required support that helps us work towards our goal of reaching the benchmark level under the Convention,” said Takeshi Ono of the JFA.
Speaking of the befitting theme, All India Football Federation (AIFF) Technical Director Syed Sabir Pasha said: “The last three days have been a wonderful experience and I am confident I speak for all of us when we say that we will go back to our own federations with a new approach towards coaching and I hope the AFC continues to host sessions for us so that we can keep up with all the latest developments.”
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