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Myanmar Football Federation

(Redirected from States and Divisions Football Championship)

The Myanmar Football Federation (abbr. MFF; Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ဘောလုံး အဖွဲ့ချုပ်) is the governing body of football in Myanmar. The MFF oversees the Burmese men's national team, the women's national team, and youth national teams as well as national football championships and professional club competitions.

Myanmar Football Federation
AFC
Founded1947; 77 years ago (1947)
(as Burma Football Federation)
HeadquartersYangon
FIFA affiliation1952
AFC affiliation1954
AFF affiliation1996
PresidentZaw Zaw
Websitethe-mff.org
MFF Headquarters

History

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Reportedly introduced during the British colonial era by James George Scott, a British colonial administrator,[1] football has been the most popular sport in the country. The Burma Football Federation was founded in 1947, a year before the country's independence from the United Kingdom. The BFF joined FIFA in 1952, and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.[2]

 

The federation launched the first States and Divisions Football Championship in 1952.[2] The highly popular annual competition became the main avenue for attracting talented players from around the country. This rudimentary level of talent development seemed sufficient for a while. Burma was a top Asian football power, along with Iran and South Korea, in the 1960s and early 1970s, winning two Asian Games tournaments (1966, 1970) and then unprecedented five South East Asian Games tournaments (1965–1973) as well as coming in second in the 1968 Asian Cup tournament.[2] During a ten-year span between 1961 and 1970, Burma thoroughly dominated the U-19/U-20 Asian Cup, reaching the finals nine times and winning the tournament seven times.[3]

Starting from the mid-1970s, the country's football success—a source of much national pride—also declined rapidly, along with the country's precipitous economic decline. (Aside from a few regional tournament wins, the Burmese men's national team has not won any major football competition since 1973.) The federation did (or could do) little to promote development of football, or nurture the talent through professional league competitions. Until 1996, the country's main football league consisted of Yangon-based clubs run by government ministries and known for corruption. Although private football clubs were allowed to join the Myanmar Premier League in 1996, the league still did not attract much following by Burmese public. In December 2008, the MFF announced the formation a new national professional league, Myanmar National League, which will start its first full season in 2010.

In accordance with FIFA regulations, the MFF reportedly became an independent organization, free of government control, in March 2009.[4]

Competitions run by the MFF

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Programmes

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Together with Youri Djorkaeff, Aung San Suu Kyi meets the school kids at FIFA Football For Schools launching ceremony.

The MFF has launched the FIFA Football for Schools project with the support of the FIFA Foundation on 31 January 2020. The event, hosted by MFF President Zaw Zaw, was attended by the State Counsellor H. E. Aung San Suu Kyi, Union Minister for the Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe, Union Minister for Education Dr. Myo Thein Gyi, FIFA Foundation CEO Youri Djorkaeff, together with guests, presidents and secretaries from local township football associations.[5]

Association staff

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Name Position Source
  Zaw Zaw President [6][7]
  Pye Phyo Tayza Vice-president [6][7]
  Sai Sam Htun 2nd Vice-president [6][7]
  Ko Ko Thein General secretary [6][7]
  Than Zaw Treasurer [6]
  Tin Myint Aung Technical director [6][7]
  Michael Feichtenbeiner Team coach (men's) [6][7]
  Thet Thet Win Team coach (women's) [6][7]
  Zaw Minn Htike Media/Communications Director [6][7]
  Ye Win Tun Local Competition Department Director [6][7]
  Hla Min Referee Department Director [6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Donald M. Seekins (2006). Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 416. ISBN 9780810854765.
  2. ^ a b c "History of MFF". Myanmar Football Federation. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  3. ^ "Asian U-19/U-20 Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  4. ^ Han Oo Khin (9–15 March 2009). "New era for football". The Myanmar Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Myanmar launches FIFA Football for Schools project". FIFA.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k FIFA.com. "Member Association - Myanmar". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The AFC.com – The Asian Football Confederation". The AFC. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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