AFC and One Goal host Sports for Development Conference in Vietnam

The Sports for Development Conference 2014, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and One Goal, opened on Friday, 23 May, at the Grand Hotel Saigon, Vietnam. 

Organised during the AFC Women's Asian Cup taking place in Vietnam, the conference showcases international best practices and effective programme models for nutrition, gender and grassroots football for girls.

"I hope other girls can join playing football,” says student Trang, 14. “The sport helps us be self-confident and have good health."

Twelve children, ages 13-14, including Trang, from World Vision's urban development programmes in Ho Chi Minh City joined the football freestyle activity at the One Goal event.

Delivering the opening address at the opening address, Dato’ Windsor John, Deputy General Secretary, AFC said, "Sports generally and football as the 'world game' more specifically has the power to unite and engage people and the potential to be a great catalyst for development. Through this conference we hope to unlock this potential for Asia."

The AFC is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Created as a partnership between AFC, World Vision, Royal DSM, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), the One Goal campaign seeks to leverage the power of football to fight malnutrition and obesity in Asia.

A One Goal partners' report titled "Improving Nutrition for Adolescent Girls in Asia and the Middle East: Innovations are Needed" was also released as part of the opening session of the conference. 

This report describes some of the underlying causes and the impact of adolescent nutrition on the long-term health and well-being of girls and their future offspring. It provides a snapshot of some programmes and interventions in Asia that aim to address these issues as well as makes recommendation to improve them.

Stefan Germann, Executive Director One Goal, one of the speakers on the dais for the opening address, said, "One Goal is a great example of a sport like football playing the role of a catalyst in bringing a critical development issue like child nutrition to the fore and finding innovative solutions to ensure nutrition for every child."

Sources: the-afc.com, World Vision Vietnam.