Pledge to raise technical standards

The first meeting of the Asian Football Association (AFC) Technical Committee for the 2011-2015 term was held under the chairmanship of Japan’s Kohzo Tashima on Thursday. In his opening remarks, AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong urged the members to make efforts to reduce the gap between the standard of football in Asia and other continents. “In the next four-year period, our work should be focused on how to raise our standard of football so that we can reduce the gap between advanced continents,” he said. The members discussed a five-pronged approach for overall improvement of football standards, including grassroots development, youth development, coach education development, and a ‘Victory 2022’ project for national teams and structure of proper organisation. The committee took the following decisions, which need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee: - To hold a technical study workshop for Member Associations to have a wider base for the AFC Technical Study Group panel and MAs. – Selection of players as AFC Ambassadors of Asia who play in the top level competitions in Asia or around the world. – Introduction of Futsal Level 1 Coaching Certificate to increase the number of qualified futsal coaches at the grassroots level. – 2012 Education calendar for Member Associations was approved.