Doha:  The Development Department of the Qatar Football Association organised the AFC Grassroots Day festival for budding young footballers on the 13th and 14th of this month, under the Aspire Dome, to mark the end of the season and also celebrate Qatar’s winning of the gold medal for the previous year's festival. More than 1,200 players aged between 6 and 11 years old, representing Qatari clubs taking part in the Kids League, participated in the festival during which exhibition matches were held and technical skills were displayed. The event concluded with the crowning of the winning teams for the 2019-2020 season, in which the festival did not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the attendees at the festival was Mr. Fahad Thani Al-Zaraa, Director of the Development Department, who handed over prizes and medals to the participants and thanked everyone on behalf of the Qatar Football Association and its Executive Office. He described the event as a "double celebration" after the AFC recognised Qatar's football family by awarding the gold medal for the previous season's Grassroots Day festival. The medal was awarded for the best organised festival to conclude the season, after receiving a high rating by the AFC. Mr. Fahad Thani added: “The idea of ​​the festival is to recognise the young players for their achievements during the season, with the aim of motivating them to improve their level in the future. It is a reward to boost their morale, so they can experience the joy of footballing achievements from a young age, and then grow up through those moments, so that we can see them in the future as champions at the continental, regional and global levels, just as we saw when Qatar won the last Asian Cup." The Development Director also pointed out that talent discovery begins from the first step in the kids' level, which is a difficult stage that requires great effort and an expert eye. "This is what the Development Department is working on, through developing the level of coaches and permanently polishing their skills, through training courses and workshops that are held throughout the year. We did not stop, even during the period of the coronavirus pandemic, in which many workshops and courses were held according to strict precautionary measures, which saw us achieve our desired goals without any cases of the virus." For his part, Mr. Mohammed Al-Hashemi, Strategic Planning Adviser at the Development Department, said: “The festival witnessed a large attendance of 800 kids on the first day and more than 400 kids on the second day, which marks a great return for all after a two-year hiatus to this wonderful festive football event." He added: “The coronavirus pandemic caused the festival to stop for two seasons, but it has returned strongly thanks to the efforts of everyone in the Development Department, led by Captain Fahad Thani, and our fellow colleagues and club coaches, along with the participation and attendance of the parents. We were able to organise this festival in a wonderful way, just as the QFA aims to do. This celebration shows how important the broadening of the age groups base is for the game, which serves as the main pillar for building the football base.” He stressed: “I cannot forget to congratulate everyone in the Qatar Football Association, headed by the president His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, for the honour of receiving the Asian Football Confederations' Gold Medal award for Grassroots Day activities, as a culmination of the efforts of the Development Department that made sure we met all the criteria and requirements were needed to attain this recognition at the continental level, which is the highest decoration for football activities in Qatar." Mr. Mohammed Al-Hashemi concluded by saying that the festival marks the return of football activities to their previous level, in terms of both competitions and similar festivals.