A pair of Japanese referees were selected to officiate in the 1st AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015, which was held between 21 September and 26 September, and they were in charge of the third-place match.

Referees's Comments

MATSUO Kumiko International Women's Futsal Referee (Tokushima)
The pitch that was prepared for this first championship was excellent, and I felt that it naturally made the players' motivation. Including the games that I was in charge of, the participating countries squared off against each other with their pride in every single game, and I saw a lot of hard hits that you don't really see in Japan, but every player kept playing until the final whistle. 

I think that the individual skills of the Japanese players were more advanced than those of other countries, but they ended up finishing the runnerups and as a Japanese, I was very disappointed. In the championship match, while the stadium was filled with so many Iranian fans, Japan put up a hearted battle, not giving up until the very end.

Now the second tournament will be expected to be played with more teams in it, and I felt that there's a good chance that the Women's Futsal World Cup will start in the near future.

NIITSUMA Kumi International Women's Futsal Referee (Tokyo)
It was my first AFC Championship, and everything felt so fresh and  my heart kept being moved. For this tourney, 16 referees from 10 countries participated. The teams played serious contests with their pride, making every match tough and exciting.

I felt that many of the players were younger, but I was impressed that they were generous with our officiating and were quick to change their mind-set. While they played hard, they had the capacity for caring others. And I felt that they showed sense of sufficiency and fair play spirits when they were shaking hands with their opponents after their games. I would like to share this experience with as many companies as possible and improve ourselves.