The Vietnam Footbal Federation (VFF) have decided to be hosts of two Asean Football Federation (AFF) competitions in 2009 following the 8th meeting of the AFF Council yesterday.

And Ho Chi Minh City has been chosen by the Vietnam national body to organise the two competitions this year and they are the AFF Under-19 Youth Championship and also the AFF Futsal Championship.

Subject to further confirmation, the AFF Under-19 Youth Championship will be held from 5-15 August 2009 while the AFF Futsal Championship will be played out from 14-20 June 2009.

Thailand, who have been the hosts for the AFF Futsal Championship since its inception, will be organising the AFF Under-16 Youth Championship in Bangkok although the dates have yet to be confirmed

The final tournament under the AFF flagship this year will be the AFF Under-16 Women’s Championship which will be held in Yangon, Myanmar where it has been slated to tentatively begin on 9 October 2009.

In the meantime, the AFF will once again be busy with more education seminars for Member Associations in 2009 with eight courses being planned.

The Match Commissioners/ General Coordinators course will be held in Myanmar on 8-12 June 2009 while the Technical Directors’ Course will be in Vietnam on 25-29 May 2009.

The Futuro III Module 2: Marketing, Media and Communication will also be in Vietnam on 1-5 Aug 2009 and the Futuro III Module 3: Event, Management & Competition will be in Indonesia on 12-16 August 2009.

The Futuro III Module 4: Club Management & Club Licensing will be in Thailand from 7 April 2009 onwards, whereas the Administration Course for Office and Event Staff for MAs will in Laos on 5-9 May 2009.

The Course for Newly Registered FIFA Referees will be organised in Cambodia from 6 July 2009 onwards with the Course for Futsal Referees to be held in Vietnam in early June.

While the courses have been confirmed for 2009, the exact dates of all the courses will be subjected to final confirmation.

PIC: HE Tengku Tan Sri Dato' Seri Ahmad Rithauddeen, the president of the AFF (left) after receiving a custom-made AFF pin from U Zaw Zaw, the president of the Myanmar Footbal Federation (right). Looking on is HE Ravy Khek, the Vice-President of the AFF.