SAFF Opens FIFA Advanced Program for Development "FIFA FORWARD" in Riyadh

2023-04-27
21:38:33

The Secretary-General of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Ibrahim Al Kassim, confirmed that the unlimited support that the football sector enjoys from the wise leadership, and the continuous follow-up from the Ministry of Sports, had the greatest impact in making the Kingdom an ideal destination for many regional and international sporting events, including the FIFA Advanced Program for Development "FIFA FORWARD".

In his speech today, Thursday, at the opening of the first day of the program, which will be hosted by Riyadh from 27 to 30 April, the Secretary-General expressed his thanks and appreciation to FIFA for their confidence in giving SAFF the opportunity to host the third edition of the FIFA Advanced Program for Development.

Al Kassim delivered his speech in the presence of the FIFA's CEO of Federation Affairs Kenny John Mary, FIFA's Director of the Federation Affairs Department for Asia and Oceania Sanjeevan Balsingem, FIFA's Director of the Regional Office in the Middle East Essam Al-Suhaibani, and representatives of the participating federations.

Al Kassim talked about the importance of the program in developing local and regional federations to keep pace with the continuous development in the world of football, which contributes to achieving the desired goals, whether medium or long-term, and such events enhance cooperation between federations, which contributes to serving football in their countries.

Kenny John Mary welcomed the attendees, stressing his happiness with the great professionalism with which the Saudi Arabian Football Federation operates with good hospitality, welcome, and optimal preparation for this meeting, stressing the importance of teamwork to develop the football system between the federations and the spread of its popularity, positive influence, and optimal cooperation in order to achieve the full sustainability of football.

Today, Thursday, the first session was held, during which Sanjeevan Balsingem affirmed that football in West Asia is an important partner for FIFA, citing the great success of Qatar in hosting the World Cup 2022 finals and Saudi Arabia’s victory in hosting the Club World Cup 2023, in addition to FIFA’s financial investments in the region, considering that FIFA is keen On the sustainability and strengthening football in the region.

Sanjeevan gave an introductory overview of the establishment of the program and the launch of its third edition, which extends until 2026, and how the educational curriculum was developed and approved by the FIFA committees, reviewing FIFA's goals, the most important of which is the development of FIFA's investments in the region and the operating costs of the federations and their returns from the program.

Essam Al-Suhaibani opened his speech in the second session about the great role that the program will play in its third edition by contributing to the development of the member federations, which will work to make the best use of the program to make their national federation an essential and effective partner in the FIFA system.

Al-Suhaibani reviewed the most prominent federations that benefited from the program in its second edition from 2018-2022 and their successes achieved as a result of benefiting from the program, stressing that the third edition of the program is a great opportunity for federations in the region to grow, increase and achieve leadership in football.

In the last session of the first day, Alessandro Qamqilia, Director of FIFA Strategies, praised the importance of developing the strategic work of the national federations, and seeking to build a sports strategy that contributes to supporting the goals and vision of the federation.

The first day of the program was concluded with a discussion session among the participating members, which included several polls and discussions that contributed to enriching the first day of the program.