FFA to lead ASEAN-Australia Football Exchange in March

Football Federation Australia (FFA) is pleased to announce that it will host an ASEAN-Australia Football Exchange in the week of the Australian Government’s ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

Partnering with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the ASEAN-Australia Council (AAC), FFA has designed a program of events as part of the ASEAN-Australia Football Exchange.

Each of the events and initiatives designed and hosted by FFA will showcase the strong relationship between Australia and South-East Asia through football and provide new opportunities for further collaboration.

FFA’s schedule of events will include:

Training Camp & International Friendly – Westfield Young Matildas & Thailand U-19 Women’s National Team:

• A week-long training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) and Valentine Sports Park (Sydney).
• An international friendly match between the two teams at Leichhardt Oval (Sydney), kicking off at 12:30pm on Friday, 16 March 2018, with free admission for all interested spectators.

ASEAN Women’s Administrator Development Workshop:

• Female football administrators working in ASEAN Member Associations will spend a week in Sydney discussing women’s football in ASEAN, and learning from Australian and international sports administrators.
• FFA has previously had representatives from Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attend the workshops.
• This is the third successive year of the program, delivered with the support of the AAC.

A session of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Council:

• The AFF Council sits quarterly in different ASEAN Member Associations, and is attended by Presidents and General Secretaries of each of the AFF Member Associations.
• Australia previously hosted an AFF Council Session in December 2015.

FFA Chief Executive Officer David Gallop AM thanked the Australian Government for backing the ASEAN-Australia Football Exchange, and noted that the exchange would allow FFA to strengthen its ties with other ASEAN Member Associations.

“Football Federation Australia has been a member of the ASEAN Football Federation since 2012, and we are committed to working with our fellow ASEAN Member Associations to continue to grow the game in our region,” said Gallop.

“The growth in both the men’s and women’s game across the region continues to reach new heights, and we’ve seen that with Vietnam’s progression to the Final of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championships and three ASEAN Member Associations contesting the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan this year.”

“With football commonly understood and a shared passion across the region, it demonstrates the world game’s unique capacity to bring the people of South-East Asia together – and we are appreciative of the Australian Government’s support in assisting us to do this.”

“We are looking forward to playing a central part in Australia’s activities around the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit,” concluded Gallop.

*Lead image courtesy of The AFC