The former national team player NAGASHIMA Akihiro curried out a football class at Chao Anouvong Stadium in Vientiane, Laos on Thursday, 24 November.

This football class is a part of the ‘Sport for Tomorrow Project’, in which JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) are participating.

About 60 fourth-grade elementary school students, including both boys and girls, took part in the class with support from Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.

As more than half of the girls were beginners, they started with some exercises to get used to the ball, followed by a mini game in a five-on-five with NAGASHIMA.

During questions and answers, the students delivered various opinions and asked many questions, to which NAGASHIMA responded in detail.

NAGASHIMA also paid a visit to Asian Development with Disabled Persons (ADDP), which supports activities of disabled people in Asia, and the JFA gave used balls to pupils of a deaf school.

He also attended an event, which was hosted by the staff of the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO LAO) at a local school to let children learn about the danger of unexploded bombs.

According to last year’s collaboration arrangement between JICA, the Japan Football Association, and the J.League, the JFA provide used balls and training kits for participants and schools.

Teacher's Comment

NAGASHIMA Akihiro
I conducted a football class for 60 fourth-grade elementary school pupils in Vientiane, Laos. I was truly pleased to see each participant showing their abilities as much as possible, contributing to their teams, throughout the 90 minutes in temperatures of almost 30 degrees. The best bit of all was their occasional smiles.