Hamedan: Thousands watch colourful opening
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Loading...AFC – Hamedan, More than 2,000 spectators attended the colourful opening of the AFC U-14 Festival of Football matches at the Al Quids Stadium here on Thursday.
Nine South Asian teams and their coaches as well as referees marched during the ceremony, greeted by fireworks and music, while the audience – mainly students and families – cheered them on.
Several VIPs attended the ceremony, including from the Hamedan General Governor’s office, city council, Iran Football Federation, Hamedan Football Association and AFC representatives.
Alireza Eftekhari, General Manager of the Physical Education Organisation, welcomed all teams and participants and wished them a wonderful stay in Hamedan.
AFC Project Manager Dr Shamil Kamil thanked the Iran Football Federation for their support and collaboration and Hamedan FA for hosting the Festival of Football.
He hoped all players, coaches and referees would enjoy the festival and new friendships.
He emphasised that the Festival is focused on learning and educational development rather than competition.
The matches will be held under two formats – 30-minute play without an interval and 60-minute play split into two halves of 30 minutes each.
The nine countries taking part in the Festival are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and hosts Iran.
The Festival, which is less about competition and more about providing an arena for talented juniors from their respective regions to play against each other and forge bonds of friendship, is held in five regional locations.
The West Asian Festival was held from February 21 to March 6 in Doha, Qatar while the Festival for the Central Asian region was held from March 13 to 26 in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
The East Asian Festival was held in Beijing, China, from April 14 to 27.
South Asia is currently celebrating its Festival from May 10-23, here, while the Asean event is scheduled from May 24 to June 6 in Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian province of Sabah, in Borneo.
Time for action in Hamedan
Hamedan: It was time for action in the AFC U-14 Festival of Football for South Asia as teams were engaged in matches of 30 minutes each without interval.
A Team Managers’ Meeting was also held to discuss various technical matters such as match formats and fixtures as well as refereeing. Hamedan Football Association President Abbas Soufi, local organising committee members and representatives of the participating teams were present in this meeting.
The second day’s 12 matches will be played to accomplish a total of 24 matches under the first format.
The second format will be used for matches on May 22 and 23, where each 60-minute match will be split into two halves of 30 minutes each.
A skills tests will be carried out on May 21 between the two match formats for all participants.
Nine countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and hosts Iran – are taking part in the South Asian chapter of the Festival of Football, which is held for players born on or after 1 January 1996.
The Festival, which is less about competition and more about providing an arena for talented juniors from their respective regions to play against each other and forge bonds of friendship, is held in five regional locations.
The West Asian Festival was held from February 21 to March 6 in Doha, Qatar while the Festival for the Central Asian region was held from March 13 to 26 in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
The East Asian Festival was held in Beijing, China, from April 14 to 27.
South Asia is currently celebrating its Festival from May 10-23, here, while the Asean event is scheduled from May 24 to June 6 in Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian province of Sabah, in Borneo.
