Five young referees from the Japan Football Association (JFA) travelled to Gothenburg this summer to take part in the Referee Abroad international refereeing programme at the Gothia Cup.
JFA followed their journey and has now released a special 36-minute episode of its Referee Cam series, documenting their experience throughout the week in Sweden.
The five young officials were accompanied by Yuichi Nishimura, one of the most renowned referees in Japanese football history, who represented Japan at two FIFA World Cups and refereed the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the referees’ experience, from officiating matches at one of the world’s largest youth football tournaments to receiving feedback from experienced international referee observers and adapting to a completely different football and refereeing environment.
For Referee Abroad, international exchanges such as this are about much more than the matches themselves.
Bringing together referees from different countries creates an environment where young officials can experience different refereeing cultures, learn from international mentors, challenge themselves outside their usual surroundings and build relationships with colleagues from around the world.
The participation of the Japanese delegation is part of the growing cooperation between Referee Abroad and the Japan Football Association, with the ambition of creating further opportunities for Japanese referees and referee educators to gain international experience in the years ahead.
Daniele Curcio, President of Referee Abroad, said:
“It was a great pleasure to welcome the JFA delegation to Gothenburg and to see these five young referees embrace the experience from the very first day. We strongly believe that experiencing football and refereeing in a different country can play an important role in the development of a young referee, both on and off the pitch.
We are very grateful to the Japan Football Association for the trust they have placed in Referee Abroad, and we hope this will be just the beginning of a long and successful partnership between our organisations.”
Referee Abroad would like to thank JFA, Yuichi Nishimura and, above all, the five young referees for the enthusiasm and commitment they brought to Gothenburg.
Their week in Sweden may be over, but hopefully it represents only the beginning of a much longer international journey.
Watch the full JFA Referee Cam documentary below.
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