Around 170 participants at the AFC U-14 Festival of Football for South and Central Asia underwent the skills test at the Al Quds Stadium.

The tests were organised well and implemented smoothly while coaches who participated in the activity have given positive feedback on the programme.

Other activities in the Festival were football matches held using two formats, the first being 30-minute play without an interval and the second being a 60-minute play split into two halves of 30 minutes each.

The second format of the Festival matches commenced on May 22.

Though the matches were not part of any competition and were more like friendly games, the young players were pleased as they had an opportunity to play normal football and to perform their skills.

The coaches were satisfied with their success in implementing their tactics and the young referees were involved in officiating the games like in real football competitions.

Nine countries are taking part in the South Asian chapter of the AFC Festival of Football, namely 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 celebrated its Festival from May 10 to 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. (AFC)