Seven members, including the Vice President, the General Secretary, and the staff in charge of the grassroots activities from the Football Association of Singapore, visited Japan from 30 May to 2 June. They learned how to raise awareness about the football, focusing on grass-root level activities.

On the first day, they visited “JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids”, which is one of the biggest football activities for young children in Japan. They also watched the match between the U-12 and U-18 of Kashima Antlers to learn about the youth development policy of the club.

On the second day, they attended lectures at JFA House about the popularisation of football and youth development, including the Academy, grass-root level activities, women’s football, and futsal, which have been areas of focus for the Japan Football Association. Then on the last day, they visited the facilities and practice sessions of the JFA Academy and had a lecture about Japan’s youth development by YAMAGUCHI Takafumi, Technical Director, to finish their four-day stay.

Schedule

Comments from Members of the Football Association of Singapore

Mr. Bernardo Tan, Vice President of the Football Association of Singapore
I understood through this visit that all the grass-root level activities for young children have contributed to Japan’s improvement so much. As we have a similar physical profile and culture to Japan, I think we can try similar activities to improve our football and become closer to Japan.

There are many challenging problems – parents tend to focus on education rather than sports activities or we don’t have enough facilities. We’d like to solve each issue to become closer to Japan.

Mr. Mohamed Zainudeen, AFC/Coach Instructor of the Football Association of Singapore
I think I learned through the training courses why the JFA is so successful. All the programmes have clear purposes and goals, which I could understand well.