Football
India conferred AFC President's Recognition bronze award for grassroots football
AIFF, the governing body of Indian football, won the award in the bronze category behind Australia and Guam, who won the gold and silver medals for their grassroots facilities.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubery received the award in Doha at the AFC Annual Awards ceremony on Tuesday.
The All India Football Federation, the governing body of Indian football, won the AFC President's Recognition in the bronze category for its grassroots programmes at the AFC Annual Awards in Doha on Tuesday. This was the second medal for India, with the previous coming in 2014.
The AIFF initiated numerous special projects as part of this endeavour, including the AIFF Blue Cubs programme, Blue Cubs Coaching Courses, Blue Cubs Leagues, Blue Cubs Football Schools, AIFF Grassroots Awards, AIFF Institutional League for Non-Professional Entities, AIFF Project Diamond and several other projects at the grassroots level.
Commenting on the award, AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran said, “This award by the AFC for our grassroots work reflects that our flagship grassroots initiative ‘Blue Cubs’ will transform India’s grassroots landscape in the next few years."
Australia won the AFC President’s Recognition Award for grassroots football in the gold category, and Guam bagged the award in the silver category.
Meanwhile, Kim Min-jae, the Bayern Munich defender, won the AFC Asian International Player of the Year. Last season, Kim Min played a crucial role in helping his previous club Napoli win the Scudetto title.
Saudi Arabian midfielder Salem Al Dawsari, on the other hand, was conferred with the 2022 AFC Player of the Year, while Australia’s Samantha Kerr bagged the Women's Player of the Year award.
Japan national team coach Hajime Moriyasu won the AFC Men’s Coach of the Year due to his team's exceptional performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Shui Qingxia was named the AFC Women’s Coach of the Year.
