Kuala Lumpur: Participants of AFC Midnight Football (MF) will learn that leadership is not only about having a formal position but is more often about ‘moral leadership’ or awareness of the responsibility to do the right thing in one’s life.
A Leadership Camp will be held for the participants of the second edition of the AFC’s social development programme from 14 to 16 October 2011 at Broga Hill, Semenyih, about 50km from the Malaysian capital. Held in one of the most famous hiking places around the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, the programme is aimed to instill a sense of moral and personal leadership among the youngsters who take part.
MF is a programme under the AFC Dream Asia initiative which aims to guide youngsters going in the wrong direction by using football as the main platform for positive change.
One of the leadership sessions during the camp is ‘Learning from Ryan’s Well’, an empowerment activity that uses as an example of personal leadership the real story of Ryan Hreljac, a Canadian boy in 1998 who worked for four months doing extra chores around his house to raise $70 to build a well at a school in a Ugandan village. The well continues to be used by thousands of people and Ryan’s determination grew from the $70 collected by doing simple household chores to a Foundation to bring clean water and sanitation to those impacted by the global water and sanitation crisis.
The first edition of MF which was launched in September 2010 and concluded in July has proven to be a success in bringing about positive change among the participants some of whom were secondary students with disciplinary problems and inmates of a juvenile reform school. The second edition was launched in July with the AFC hoping that the programme will be extended to all member associations eventually.