The tournament, themed “Football Comes To You”, was held during the weekends from July 16 to October 10, 2019 in Dushanbe, Soghd, Kulob, Bokhtar, Rasht, Badakhshan and in the districts of republican.

The Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations (MA) to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes. It identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, structure, long-term planning and partnerships, with PFF excelling in all criteria.

AFF is the 24th Member Association to receive the Membership, joining the likes of Australia, China PR, Malaysia, among others, from across the Continent.

The AFF has been focusing on three key areas: MA endorsed grassroots programmes, grassroots competitions and grassroots courses.

The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined our desire to confirm football as the number one sport in Asia and the grassroots game forms the building blocks to bring our ambitions to life.

Credit must go to all our Member Associations for never failing to answer the clarion call to spread the reach of the game. And it is only through this spirit of unity and solidarity that we continue to strengthen the foundations for football in Asia.

As the Continent’s governing body, our mandate is clear: We want to create conducive environments for everyone, people of all ages, regardless of their playing ability or background, with the opportunity to play.

And our commitment to grassroots football has never been stronger. Last year, we introduced the Grassroots Charter, which is already proving to be a game-changer in enhancing the quality and delivery of the movement and programmes across the Continent.

We now have 15 Member Associations endorsed under the Charter and I urge more Member Associations to come forward to embrace the Charter in the same way they have grown the popularity and scale of the AFC Grassroots Football Day.

We also introduced three new AFC Special Grassroots Awards in 2018 to celebrate our dedicated volunteers in Asia – the unsung heroes who work tirelessly every day to spread the joy of football.

Grassroots football must continue to uphold the principles of inclusiveness, instilling lifelong values and building character. It must always be fun, but it is also a serious business. For every superstar, the journey begins at the Grassroots and the livelihood of football depends on our ability to nurture the game for our future generations.

I would like to express my appreciation to all the AFC Member Associations who are organising activities in their countries this year. A special thank you is also extended to all our volunteers and parents for believing in the power of football.

I wish you all a successful and fulfilling AFC Grassroots Football Day!

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John was present at the ceremony on the sidelines of the 1st AFC Grassroots Conference to hand over the prestigious awards to National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam President HRH Prince Sufri Bolkiah following the Southeast Asian nation’s capture of the Aspiring Category, Vietnam Football Federation General Secretary Le Hoai Anh for the Developing Category and Nakayama Masao, Member of the Japan Football Asosciation’s Kids Project, for the Inspiring Category.

The awards, which were originally announced during the AFC’s Annual Awards in New Delhi, India last November, are based on a points system which takes into account several criteria such as the structure and management of grassroots football as well as the philosophy and policy of Member Associations.

In addition, Member Associations’ grassroots partnerships with various external organisations are also assessed, as are technical programmes such as courses, workshops and talent identification.

Other criteria include exchange programmes - such as those with schools - administrative sub-regional football associations, communities and clubs as well as grassroots activities, for example promotional, educational and social responsibility events.

Photo: AFC

BFF celebrates its Grassroots Day on November 11 each year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Fourth King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk.

The Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes.

It identifies 20 performance categories, such as grassroots competitions, fairplay, partnerships and personal development, which have all been met by FAM and PFA respectively.

The Grassroots Charter is a development tool for Member Associations (MA) to raise the quality of their grassroots programmes. It identifies 20 performance categories such as grassroots competitions, structure, long-term planning and partnerships, with PFF excelling in all criteria.

The importance of grassroots development is deeply rooted in the PFF across its 40 regional member associations where the focus on promoting and developing can be found in all levels of its football structure.

PFF and its regional FAs have various Grassroots competitions in place for the different age categories as well as women's football development to promote the game across the country.