Grassroots
Attended by 17 members, the virtual event laid out the pathways and priorities for the new cycle as part of the AFC’s ongoing mission to establish a firm foundation for the game throughout the Continent in collaboration with its Member Associations (MAs).
Notably, two key development areas were identified for 2026, namely a focus on promoting girls-only grassroots football, particularly within the 5–10 age category, and finding ways to support MAs in making player retention a priority.
“We have already identified a number of key areas of development, including girls-only football and player retention,” said AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, who chaired the meeting. “We have also highlighted the value of grassroots football, promoting the grassroots game, the vital need for data, and the importance of special-needs and disability football. So, there are a lot of areas that are worth exploring.”
Proposed additions to the AFC Grassroots Charter Regulations were also discussed, with potential topics including artificial intelligence, child safeguarding, the D-Certificate, grassroots competitions and mandatory data collection. This new edition of the Regulations is targeted to be finalised in time for issuance by May 2027.
Panel members received updates on the current status of the AFC Grassroots Charter, the landmark benchmarking initiative that aims to inspire and support grassroots programmes across the Continent. Launched in 2017, it now comprises 44 endorsed MAs: 12 at Gold Level, 11 at Silver and 21 at Bronze. Of these members, eight are currently pending evaluation for renewal/upgrading.
An overview was provided for the D-Certificate, which is designed to provide easy access for those with an interest in developing young players. Aimed at parents, teachers, students and volunteers, the programme adopts a hybrid learning approach that covers key areas such as safeguarding and child protection, organising children’s football, small-sided games, game management and practice principles. It serves as a platform to progress toward higher level AFC qualifications, while at the same time enabling MAs to expand their grassroots coaching base.
The award winners from the AFC Awards Riyadh 2025 and the AFC Special Grassroots Awards 2025 were highlighted in a recap, before the Panel looked ahead to milestones for the year, including the AFC Grassroots Football Day 2026 on May 23 and the publication of the 2025-2026 AFC Grassroots Review in the last quarter of the year.
“Our guiding principle is: To develop football that is safe, fun, inclusive, dynamic and fair,” Roxburgh stated. “And which promotes health, good habits, happiness and hope. For a lot of young children around our world, making them happy and giving them hope is vital.”
“This is very much a collective effort, with all of us sharing our ideas, our thoughts and our voices, trying to do something that will make a difference to grassroots football throughout Asia.”
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