Football Federation Australia’s Medical Department was well represented and recognised at the sixth Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Medical Conference held in Chengdu, China this month.
Close to 700 delegates from 60 nations convened in Chengdu from March 4 to 8 for the Conference, which is held every four years.
The AFC Medical Conference included keynote addresses, lectures, symposiums, free papers, poster presentations, and clinical demonstrations.
Moreover, it covered a range of areas of contention such as stem cell application to muscle tissue/cartilage repair, age and sex determination, new insights into the pathophysiology of injuries, the use and abuse of modern medicine, prevention of emergencies and injuries, sudden cardiac death, and anti-doping.
FFA’s Head of Medical, Dr Mark Jones, was joined by colleagues Donna Lu, Prof Rob Duffield, Prof Alan McCall, and physiotherapist Deane Stephens in China.
Lu, Duffield, and McCall each presented research papers at the Conference, while Jones and Stephens became the first Australians to receive AFC Distinguished Service Awards – Bronze, which are awarded for 15 years of dedicated service to football medicine.
Jones and Duffield also presented individually on travel to the AFC Expert Medical Group, and were subsequently appointed to the AFC’s Expert Research Group to study the effects of travel within the Confederation.
The AFC Expert Research Group for the forthcoming travel study includes senior representatives from AFC, FIFA, the JFA (Japan Football Association), as well as sleep experts from Japan and South Africa.
FFA Chief Executive Officer, Mr David Gallop AM, recognised the contributions and achievements of FFA’s Medical Department in Asia.
“FFA employs and engages some of Australia’s top sports medicine figures, so it is fantastic that we were able to send a knowledgeable and professional team to China to represent Australia at the AFC Medical Conference,” Gallop said.
“Our Medical Department is committed to remaining at the forefront of their fields, and as an organisation we are committed to sharing our expertise for the benefit of football across Asia.
“Recognition of two of our staff with honours from AFC underlines the great work that is being done by our Medical Department at home and abroad,” he said.
