Ho Chi Minh City hosts Sports For Development Conference

Organised around the backdrop of 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.

Delivering the opening address, Dato’ Windsor John, Deputy General Secretary, Asian Football Confederation 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 keynote address was delivered by Dr Nguyen Cong Khan, Director General, Administration of Science Technology and Training, Ministry of Health, Vietnam.  

He said: “Sports is a powerful tool and facilitator that helps promote good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle among all age groups. Through the learnings from this conference we hope to help children and families in Vietnam become healthier and happier.”

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Created as a partnership between the Asian Football Confederation (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.”

As part of its partnership with AFC and the One Goal campaign, the English Premier League awarded a GBP 15,000 grant to Football for All in Vietnam, a Vietnamese sports for development organisation and a One Goal partner.

“Eat, Play, Live Right” – an exhibition of photographs from around Asia focusing on children, football and nutrition was also unveiled as part of the conference and will be available for viewing throughout the duration of the two-day conference.