Asia’s top club coaches, including Melbourne Victory head coach Kevin Muscat, have landed in Shanghai for the inaugural AFC Elite Club Coaches’ Forum, which began on Thursday.
Coaches including former England and Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and former Bayern Munich manager Felix Magath, now both based in China, were joined by colleagues from as far away as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Japan and Korea Republic.
The two-day forum, conducted by AFC technical director Andy Roxburgh, is a ground-breaking event for Asian football and brings together a plethora of AFC Champions League coaches.
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, said: “I am delighted that so many club coaches and technical directors made the journey to Shanghai to be a part of the forum which will help deliver the objectives of our Vision and Mission, which is to improve the technical level and competitiveness of Asian teams.
“There are so many experienced coaches in the room and they will provide the AFC with some crucial learnings as we develop our strategy over the coming years, and I am grateful for their contribution to football in Asia.”
Roxburgh added: “To have this level of coaching talent at the initial forum is an exceptional effort and a testimony to the coaches who are willing to help progress the level of competition in this continent – whether they come from Uzbekistan or Australia.
“The aim of the forum is to provide an opportunity for Asia’s leading club coaches to discuss issues of common interest and to voice their opinions about technical and organisational matters, which will help the continued progress of the AFC Champions League and other competitions.”
