“Would you like to visit the Germany National Team training camp?”

It was Mr. KATO Hideki from the Japan Football Association (JFA) Public Relations Department who invited me in June 1996 while I was covering the UEFA European Football Championship in England.

Following the decision made at the end of the previous month that Japan and Korea Republic would co-host the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, the Japanese football community was set to begin preparations for the tournament in six years' time. Mr. Kato's objective was to observe how the teams participating in the competition spent their time at their base camps and, among other things, how they dealt with the media.

The Germany National Team leased a golf course on the northern outskirts of the town of Macclesfield, approximately 30 km south of Manchester, and used the course lodge as their base, with training taking place at the town's club stadium. A large tent built on the site was the temporary media centre which was well-equipped and provided journalists and photographers with a great work environment. Media services were also sponsored to ensure that the service was meticulous. Mr. Kato's observations at this time were undoubtedly beneficial in providing attentive service to the media covering the Japan National Team when they subsequently participated in World Cups and other events.

I was interested to see how they dealt with the media, naturally, as this is directly relevant to my job. However, as this was my first time observing a training camp for a team taking part in a major competition such as the UEFA European Championship, I was particularly interested to see what the atmosphere was like in training.

“Moss Rose,” the home of Macclesfield Town FC (name at the time), which played in a league just below the fourth tier of English professional football leagues, was located on the southern outskirts of the town. On this day, the Germany National Team opened the north stand (standing room) to the public to allow fans to observe the team's training session.

Up in the north stand, a number of local residents were watching the training session, including a group of students from a local high school. They told me that they were watching the session as part of their class at school. Macclesfield is a small town with a population of just under 60,000, but is known for its high level of education, including a university renowned for space engineering.

Not only did the Germany National Team allow the public to attend their training session, but their PR team took the lead in handing out brochures and handbooks to visitors, and some fans were calling out the players' names as they looked at the photos in the handbooks. The training session was attended by a cross-section of the local community, including the elderly, a man who came during work because he is an avid football fan, and secondary school students. All those present had a smile on their faces.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the distance between professional footballers and fans has remained distant. In the J. League before the pandemic, it was common for clubs to open training sessions to the public, with dozens or even hundreds of fans attending every day, and it was common for players to take time to sign autographs for fans after training. With the pandemic, however, this has no longer been possible, and it is a shame that many clubs still keep their training sessions closed to the public, even now that the pandemic is over.

In Europe, training sessions were previously accessible to the general public on a daily basis. However, since the turn of the century, many of these sessions have become exclusively private, reflecting the growing commercialisation of the football industry.

In modern professional football, winning titles is one thing, but a single win or a single point earned also has significant economic implications in terms of increase in revenue. Consequently, clubs and teams appear to prioritise winning above all else, with less consideration for the fans who support them.

When teams and star players express their gratitude to fans, it fosters a sense of connection and loyalty, encouraging fans to support the team even more. This mutual relationship is arguably the most significant aspect of football in our society.

I thought about such a thing when I saw a photograph taken 28 years ago in a small town in England, and a little girl smiling happily in it.

Written by OSUMI Yoshiyuki (Football Journalist)

*This article was originally posted on the Japan Football Association Newsletter, “JFAnews,” June 2024 edition.

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