The two-day conference, which also benefited general secretaries from the South and Central Zones after its successful kick-off edition last week, has played a pivotal role in enhancing the capabilities of the AFC Member Associations and continues to pave the way for greater partnerships across the Continent.

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John opened the Conference with an overview of the AFC’s Vision and Mission before participants were given an in-depth presentation on the latest developments of the AFC’s ever-improving top class competitions.

Designed and dedicated to expand the knowledge of general secretaries, the two-day conference will continue to provide the essential tools, resources and widen the understanding of the AFC’s programmes while strengthening the camaraderie within the senior leadership of the Asian football family.

Similar to the Conference held a week ago, AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John will set the tone with a presentation on the AFC’s Vision and Mission before the Confederation’s recently restructured Competitions and Football Events Division takes centrestage.

The Uzbekistan Football Association and Football Federation Australia will also enhance the depth of the Conference with best practices presentations on international relations, football administration and match officials’ development before an informative session on the potential of European and Asian Football by guest speaker Alex Phillips, the former UEFA Head of Asia - Europe Affairs.

The recently formed AFC Commercial Department and Safeguarding Unit will again take the spotlight on the second day, providing participants with greater insights on the recent developments and progress.

The indispensability of long-term development and strategic planning will also take sharp focus with special presentations from an experienced line-up of high-level speakers including Dr. Kevin Tallec Marston, Research Fellow & Academic Project Manager, CIES, Razvan Burleanu, President of the Romanian Football Federation and Kleinmann Wang CEO Anter Issac.

The first series of the two-day conference, which will see the AFC engage General Secretaries from all five zones by the end of this month, successfully covered the latest developments of the AFC’s competitions and also provided greater insights into the two recently formed functions within the Confederation’s structure – Commercial and Safeguarding.

The purpose of the two-day conference is to ensure that all Member and Regional Associations are given the opportunity to benefit from the resources, expertise and programmes established by the AFC and to further strengthen engagement.

The conference is an extension of the yearly programme specifically designed for General Secretaries, and for the first time this year will include the senior leadership from the AFC’s Regional Associations as part of efforts to further enhance the spirit of partnership within the Asian football family.

The Tajikistan Football Federation (TFF) President replaces Uzbekistan representative Umed Ahmadjonov at the helm of the CAFA Executive Committee as the CAFA Headquarters moves from Tashkent to Dushanbe.

Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic Vice President Dastanbek Konokbayev was elected First Vice President of the Central Asian Football Association while Turkmenistan Football Federation Secretary General Arslan Ainazarov was elected as the Second Vice President.

Shahab Fazil Mohammad of Afghanistan and representatives from Islamic Republic of Iran and Uzbekistan - who will be announced in course - were elected to make up the CAFA Executive members.

The yearly programme was specifically designed for General Secretaries who were appointed after the last Induction Programme that was held in Kuala Lumpur in April 2017.

The purpose of the two-day induction was to ensure that all Member Associations are given the opportunity to benefit from the resources, expertise and development programmes established by AFC and FIFA, and further strengthen engagement.

The workshop held at the AFC House was similar to the one in Manama, Bahrain just two weeks prior.

The officers from various MAs, whose main duties are to deal with the AFC and other international organisations, were brought together at this forum so that they could interact with the different AFC departments and its services to further strengthen engagement.

By the end of the workshop, the 26 participants had developed contacts and synergy amongst one another, and had full understanding of the AFC’s structure after sitting through presentations from the AFC MA & International Relations, Legal, Competitions, Technical, Referees and MA Development departments.