Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the focus of the virtual gathering was to engage in conversation on two key topics - enhancing elite youth development programmes across Asia and supporting academies and youth coaches in nurturing and managing talented young players.

In light of Australia’s triumph at the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 earlier this year, the programme featured an engaging dialogue with Trevor Morgan, Head Coach of the title-winning side, who shared insights into the strategies and principles that underpinned their success, which ranged from his coaching philosophy to training preparation leading up to the competition.

“My mantra is always to instill a mentality among youngsters where they’re not scared to make positive mistakes and not be punished for it,” said Morgan.

“We always encourage the players to play an open game and be unpredictable, which worked out well for Australia as the team scored in a variety of ways and did not just depend on set pieces.”

With the Young Socceroos also securing the tournament’s Fair Play Award, the 54-year-old also touched upon topics such as player discipline, fostering group cohesion, tailoring communication to resonate with the younger generation, and handling emotional demands that come with high-pressure competitions.

The dialogue with the Australian paved the way for the next segment of the evening with Aspire Academy’s Maria Ruiz de Ona, who highlighted the need for youth coaches to develop emotional awareness and empathy and sharpen communication skills.

Supporting the earlier presentations, Qatar Football Association’s Fahad Abdulla Al Zarraa, then reiterated the need to embed emotional intelligence into the heart of coach education in order to promote positive player-coach relationships, which was followed by the participants engaging in a lively Q&A session.