FIFA and ASEAN promote cooperation to develop comprehensive football

VHO - On October 14 in Hanoi, under the chairmanship of Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Department Nguyen Hong Minh, the 16th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS-16) held a meeting with the World Football Federation (FIFA) to promote comprehensive cooperation in football.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department Nguyen Hong Minh (right) chaired the SOMS-16 working session with FIFA.

According to FIFA's report, the ASEAN-FIFA Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 will expire in October 2025 and the two sides are currently agreeing to extend it with many expanded contents. The cooperation goal is to exploit the power of football as a tool to promote education , health and social cohesion, thereby contributing to the building of a dynamic and sustainable ASEAN.

Since 2019, ASEAN and FIFA have implemented a series of initiatives in four key areas: school football; sports development; promoting sports integrity and enhancing professional capacity. In particular, the “Football for Schools” program has been implemented in 9 ASEAN countries, bringing football to millions of students, encouraging team spirit, physical training and promoting gender equality in sports.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, FIFA coordinated with ASEAN and the World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out campaigns such as BeActive, FiveSteps, ReachOut... to spread messages about health, sportsmanship and community solidarity.

Under the “FIFA Forward” programme, FIFA has invested US$34 million in 32 football development projects in 11 ASEAN countries, including the National Training Centre in Malaysia, the High Performance Training Centre in Indonesia, the Lao Women’s Football League (2023–2026) and the VAR system for the Thai League. These projects contribute to professionalising the organisation, improving technical capacity and promoting the development of women’s football in the region.

Ms. Le Thanh Ha - Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Football Federation (left) spoke and discussed with FIFA representative

Also at the Conference, Ms. Le Thanh Ha – Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) – shared a lot of information about the ASEAN - FIFA cooperation framework. Vietnam is one of the active and proactive countries, with many projects being implemented effectively. FIFA has supported VFF in developing grassroots football – an important foundation for the long-term development of professional football.

Through the FIFA Forward program, Vietnam continues to receive support in terms of facilities and technology such as: FIFA-standard artificial turf fields, injury recovery systems, GPS devices to track athletes, LED lighting, team buses and VAR technology for V.League 1.

In the 2025–2027 period, Vietnam will participate in key programs such as “FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS)”, “FIFA Women's Football Development Programme” and “FIFA Arena”, affirming its position as a dynamic country in the ASEAN football ecosystem.

The meeting contributed to promoting comprehensive cooperation between ASEAN sports and FIFA, thereby opening up opportunities for Southeast Asian football to develop sustainably, approaching continental and world football.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/fifa-va-asean-day-manh-hop-tac-phat-trien-bong-da-toan-dien-174692.html