Four organisations at the centre of football’s social development endeavours across Asia will be in Jordan for the Soccerex Asian Forum, 13-14 May, to discuss the various projects currently undertaken to empower disadvantaged communities across the continent.

In a region with drastic differences in wealth and living standards, football is used as a real vehicle for social development to help tackle the effects of a number of challenges including religious conflicts, natural disasters and poverty. The expert panel will be able to approach the various issues currently faced on the continent from four different perspectives with a charity, global network, league and club all represented.

The Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), a not-for-profit Jordan-based Youth Commission which tackles pan-Asian issues from refugee camps on the Syrian-Jordanian border to the introduction of youth leagues in Chinese Taipei, will be represented by their CEO, Urs Zanitti.

Streetfootballworld, one of football’s largest networks of organisations which have helped empower over 750,000 people in 62 countries, will be represented by their founder and CEO, Jürgen Griesbeck.

Spearheading the footballing presence will be Tim Vine, Head of Public Affairs, English Premier League and Iñigo Arenillas, Africa and Middle East Director, Real Madrid Foundation who will discuss their Premier Skills coaching project and Real Madrid Soccer schools, which are heavily involved across Asia.

Soccerex Marketing Director, David Wright, said: “At Soccerex we focus on the business of football but we recognise that football is more than just a business and the game’s power to bring about social change never ceases to amaze me. We are delighted to bring together this panel of experts from the both the football and charity sectors, who are all carrying out excellent work in Asia.”

In addition to the organisations above, a number of premier football institutions including FIFA, the AFC, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, FC Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, PepsiCo, the Japan Football Association, Galatasaray and 12 national football association presidents.

The Forum, held in partnership with the AFDP, founded and chaired by HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, will bring together the leading figures from the world of Asian football as well as other international football experts to discuss the development of the game across Asia. The conference agenda will include a review of the opportunities for growth and the challenges facing Asian football.