In our first part series of Junpiter Futbol Japan Trip, we travelled to JFA House (Japan Football Association) which was located at Ochanomizu. Although on paper it stated JFA House was merely just a seven to nine minutes walk from the station, we certainly didn’t hit that timing as expected. After navigating ourselves in the cold and windy afternoon, it took us approximately twenty minutes to locate the road junction turning into the Football Avenue, that’s the street’s name.
Once we reached that junction, everything was obvious and clear. There the silver-color huge JFA House stood by the side of the narrow street and the Japan National Football Team’s pillar wrap in blue made it even harder to miss.
We were greeted by the players’ autographed jerseys, huge posters and various football medals and trophies display the moment we walked into the main lobby! Next, welcoming us was J.League’s Assistant Chief of Competition & Sales Mgt Division, Marketing & Sponsoring Department, Mr. Takeyuki Oya. Oya-san conducted an exclusive tour for us to the J.League team office where we were introduced to the team.
In the office, probably size of two four-rooms HDB flat housed near 50 staffs. There were mainly Human Resource, Competition, Development, Scheduling and Club Licensing departments. Particularly the Club Licensing was discussed more in detail.
Club Licensing, originated from German Football Association, is a system put in place to secure continuous improvement in the quality of competitive play and facilities on the one hand and the stabilization of club management and enhancement of financial capabilities and trust on the other. It is a commitment to make the football more attractive and earn the confidence of fans, partners and other stakeholders. AFC (Asian Football Confederation) has also responded to FIFA’s decision to adopt Club Licensing by establishing this licensing as a condition for member associations to participate in the AFC Champions League.
Beside these departments, there are also some J.League affiliates such as J.League Enterprise, J.League Photo and J.League Media Promotion which are entrusted with various tasks and responsibilities.
J.League Enterprise deals with all merchandising for products bearing the logo marks etc. of the J.League. J.League clubs and even Japan National Team since 1999. J.League Media promotion retains all match video images in a central archive and provides them for use in sports news, special programmes, TV commercial etc, both at home and abroad and even coaching children, coaches and referees. J.League Photo controls all still photographs taken of the J.League’s official matches and other events and lends them for news and commercial uses.
And as far as youth development in concerned, there is no hesitation with all effort put in to ensure success. JFA takes great pride in developing young players from various J.League clubs’ academy. They have been taking representative teams of academy-aged players on overseas training camps since 2005 to help them improve their game through international play and grow as fully-rounded individuals through their interactions with the local people and experience of other cultures. Promising players are also brought together for domestic training camps and matches to provide an extra stimulus and help them discover new approaches to their game.
Few examples, in 2011, combined J.League teams embarked on overseas training camps, the U-13’s go to South Korea, the U-14’s to Holland, the U-15s to Brazil and the U-16’s (also) to Holland. Last year, U-13’s go to Thailand, the U-14’s to China, the U-15’s to Brazil and U-16’s to South Korea.
We spent about forty-five minutes in the office with Oya-san while he explained how J.League worked and most importantly their past and their current direction. Which after, we were invited to the JFA Soccer Museum for photo-taking.
The whole visit was just a two hours meeting but we have been greatly enlightened. That first forty-five minutes which we were invited and spent in the JFA office was a display of huge confidence which Oya-san had in his team. As a matter of fact, he should be proud of the team if you witness how much Japanese football has progressed over the last twenty years. Junpiter Futbol were standing in an office of not just filled with confidence, it was an office filled with professionalism too.
At the end of the visit, we were given a J.League tote bag with some official merchandises and gifts. And also on behalf of J.League, Oya-san presented Junpiter Futbol with an official J.League flag. He even mentioned Junpiter Futbol was the J.League Ambassador in Singapore now!
Click here for more photos of JFA House and Japan Football Museum.
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