KUALA LUMPUR: AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam welcomed YAB Dato’ Seri Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, and YB Dato’ Seri Azalina binti Othman Said, Minister of Youth and Sports, to AFC House for their first visit to the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation.
The visit marked the development of closer relations between Asia’s football government body and the Malaysian Government.
Following a warm welcome, AFC officials took the opportunity to present AFC’s development programmes including ‘Vision Asia’, the Grassroots & Youth Programme, and the AFC Professional Leagues project.
The Vision Asia presentation gave an overview of the project focusing on football association governance, marketing, competitions, clubs and overall stakeholder management. The Grassroots & Youth briefing focused on the necessary areas of development, and the systematic programme which AFC is implementing as part of Vision Asia.
The final presentation on the professionalisation of leagues and clubs in Asia outlined the criteria for countries to follow when re-launching their national leagues, including governance, facilities, community relationships, professionalism, marketing and media.
The Deputy Prime Minister and the AFC President agreed on the powerful role of football, as not only a sports concept, but also a tool to improve society and benefit communities.
Commenting following the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister said, “I was very impressed with the programme. I have always emphasised on development. In Malaysia, we have the people, the enthusiasm and the resources, but we do not have the guidance, facilities, professional coaching and career path.”
Bin Hammam invited Malaysia to join the Vision Asia programme, as ‘Vision Malaysia’. YAB Dato’ Seri Najib confirmed that this proposal will be taken to the next cabinet meeting on sports for further discussion. “We will look for a way to join hands with AFC,” he stated.
WE WILL SEE WHAT PROGRAMMES WILL TAKE PLACE AND HOW IT WILL EFFECT MALAYSIAN FOOTBALL AS A WHOLE .....................................
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