A post-season refresher course for Women's Class-1 referees in charge of the Nadeshiko League was held at Prince Takamado Memorial JFA YUME Field on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 July.

Being held at the end of the first half of the Nadeshiko League 2022 season, the course aimed to review the first half of the season, address ways to deal with “Actions that delay the restart of play,” improve skills, and resolve issues ahead of the second half of the season.

・Classroom Lecture
- Case studies from the first half of the Nadeshiko League 2022 season
- Dealing with actions that delay the restart of play
- Explanation on amendments to the Laws of the Game 2022/23
- Time to reflect on oneself

・Practical Training
- Dealing with actions that delay the restart of play
- Set pieces

Instructor’s Comment

MADONO Mika, JFA Referee Manager
In this course, I was in charge of the lecture part of one of the main subjects, “Dealing with actions that delay the restart of play.” The lecture was designed to be fun, educational, and to leave a lasting impression on the participants, while keeping in mind that it can be implemented in the practical training session that follows the lecture. We reviewed the previous course, held group discussions using video footages, and exchanged opinions while including stats in the presentations. Three of the referees, who joined the course online, were also included in the group discussion to create a sense of unity among the participants. To summarise the lecture, we arranged the key points into a rap and repeated it out as a group to ensure that they remain in the minds of the participants. I also learnt a lot from the sessions held by the other lecturers, who all had their own unique approaches and devised content to help the participants, while also being flexible enough to change their plans to suit the situation. I would like to thank the participants, the players of Edogawa University Football Club, the JFA staff, and my fellow coaches for making this a successful course. We hope that the participants will put everything they have learnt into practice in their own way to “make football more attractive.”

Participants’ Comments

YAMAUCHI Emi, Women's Class-1 Referee (Okinawa)
Through this course, we were able to learn about the new amendments made to the Laws of the Game and hold discussions with our fellow referees using various incidents that occurred during the first half of the season of the Nadeshiko League. The most thought-provoking part of the course was when we discussed "actions that delay the restart of play." Even if it seems obvious watching the footage, you may not notice when you are actually on the pitch, or even if you do notice it, you may not be able to manage it properly, and this makes you realise how difficult it is to respond when it happens because it does not happen often in a match. By implementing the knowledge into action in the practical training sessions, we were given the opportunity to think about what we referees can do to prevent players from delaying the game and giving unnecessary warnings, and I feel like I this whole process allowed me to improve my skills as a referee. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who helped plan and organise such a wonderful course, and to all those involved in the Nadeshiko League who supported the course. I will do my best to make the most of what I have learnt from this course in future matches.

KATSUMATA Misaki, Women's Class-1 Referee (Miyagi)
This year I became a Women's Class-1 referee, and although it was the first time for me to attend this course, I was excited to be there. I had a great time meeting other referees, communicating and exchanging ideas, as well as taking part in the practical trainings. In the lecture part of the course, we reflected on the first half of the Nadeshiko League, talked about acts that delayed the game, spent time reflecting on ourselves, and held group discussions to exchange various perspectives and opinions. It allowed me to learn how other referees made their decisions on the pitch and gave me the opportunity to reorganise my approach. During the practical training session, the participants performed exercises to simulate refereeing in a match format. We received immediate feedback and advice from the instructors, learnt from watching other referees and discussed our opinions with them. Here we learnt the importance of holding face to face conversations when approaching players trying to delay the game. More national competitions and league matches are coming up. I want to make use of what I have learnt from this course and continue to challenge myself to be a good referee for the players and also for the people watching the matches.