In his opening speech, Duong Nghiep Khoi, VFF secretary general, emphasised that the conference provides an ideal venue for regional football federations to examine its football development plan in the region over the coming years.

He said football in Southeast Asia and in Vietnam in particular has made remarkable progress over recent years thanks to strong investment.

Khoi thanked FIFA for its support for Vietnam, saying its assistance has opened up fresh opportunities for Vietnamese football to move closer to the global standards.

Kenny Jean Marie, a representative of FIFA, for his part said that ASEAN is an important area as part of FIFA's football development programme.

Accordingly, a total of 19 football development projects have been implemented throughout Southeast Asia in recent years, he said, adding that the presence of Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam in the Women's World Cup Finals demonstrates the bright future prospects ahead for Southeast Asian football.

In response, Hassan Khan, senior project manager of FIFA, said that the world’s football government body had the budget to support member football federations, with funding increasing significantly over recent years.

The amount of money received by member football federations through the FIFA Forward 3.0 programme is higher than that of FIFA Forward 2.0 and FIFA Forward 1.0, he said.

FIFA plans to increase investment in the sport by about 30% in the 2023 - 2026 period, he added.