Success of Asian teams emphasised at landmark conference

The pathway to success for Asian teams on the world’s biggest stages was further strengthened today at the conclusion of the first-ever Asian Football Confederation (AFC) National Coaches’ Conference for Olympic Coaches 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The three-day conference themed “Towards Tokyo 2020” brought together Olympic coaches and technical directors from across the Continent to examine the challenges in international tournament preparations and to map the success of Asian teams when the Olympic Games return to Asia in two years’ time. The final day of the conference ended on a high when participants were given the opportunity to glean insights from Islamic Republic of Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz, who drew on his wealth of experience from stints with Portugal, Manchester United and Real Madrid as well IR Iran’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Stressing the importance of early planning and preparation, Queiroz said: “Nothing is more important than preparation. Asian football continues to face new challenges which demand new solutions that are specific to football in this Continent. “The players are at the centre of everything that we do and through this conference, our hope is to give coaches in Asia a greater voice to establish a unified approach to quality player development,” added Queiroz, who wi

From the technical analysis sessions to the group discussions, I would like to thank the AFC for taking a proactive approach to ensuring that we are well equipped to deal with the challenges and better prepare our teams for major international tournaments.” The conference concluded with a highly interactive discussion, led by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, on the key ingredients to achieve success on the international arena and at the ultimate stage - the FIFA World Cup. “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has underlined clear ambitions to see its teams and players succeed at the biggest stages and our coaches represent a key area of focus and investment to achieve these goals,” said Andy Roxburgh. “Along with enabling Member Associations to improve their competencies, the conference was a good opportunity and particularly insightful in gathering feedback and finding solutions to better prepare our players and teams for future success.”