AFC approves three-year Football for Dignity programme

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Social Responsibility Committee has approved a three-year “Football for Dignity” programme aimed at promoting inclusion and education through football.

The programme, approved at the Committee’s fourth meeting held virtually on Tuesday, will run from January 2027 to December 2029 and will be managed by the Kuala Lumpur-based Dignity for Children Foundation.

Building on the Dignity Cup, which has engaged more than 11,030 players since 2006, the programme will provide peace education workshops to about 40 schools each year, football-based training on conflict resolution and fair play, an annual “Peace Camp” for cultural exchange and the Dignity Cup tournament.

It is expected to engage about 1,350 refugees and asylum seekers from 22 countries annually, alongside students from local public, private, international and indigenous schools.

Committee Chairperson Zaw Zaw highlighted the role of the inaugural AFC Dream Asia Foundation Conference 2025, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in strengthening partnerships aimed at using football to support communities.

The Committee also welcomed new partnerships with Indonesia’s Yayasan ASA Asia and Malaysia’s The Lost Food Project, and the introduction of programme audits aimed at improving transparency and assessing the impact of funded projects.

Members reviewed the AFC Social Responsibility Toolkit 2026 and the expanded AFC Child Safeguarding and Protection Policy 2026, both launched in August.

The Committee also reviewed participation in the AFC Certificate in Child Safeguarding, with 208 participants completing the Insights course, 162 completing the Fundamentals module and 124 graduating from the Essentials level.

Membership in the UN Football for the Goals initiative rose to 38 AFC Member Associations and five Regional Associations, from 29 and four respectively at the Committee’s previous meeting.

The Committee also noted the AFC Dream Asia Foundation Board of Trustees’ endorsement of four community initiatives: the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s “Rebuild, Better, Stronger” Programme, Myanmar Football Federation’s Mandalay Football Academy Recovery Programme, Kawasaki Frontale’s “Blue Dream” Programme and Sharjah Football Club’s “Football for Hope” Programme.

The meeting concluded with updates on ongoing and completed social responsibility programmes across Asian football.