Three referees and one referee instructor participated in the exchange program in England.

They officiated in competitive matches and joined the training camps with Premier League referees. Through these opportunities, the referees learned the importance of game management and elements that referee need to consider during the game, that makes football more enjoyable to everyone.

Appointments

Comments

KIMURA Hiroyuki, Referee
This was my second time to participate the exchange programme with PGMOL. I had the opportunity to officiate in three matches, and it was a good opportunity to discover the characteristics of the matches in Japan, AFC, and England. In each game, I have received a lot of feedbacks about game management, and I was required not only to have consistency of my decisions, but also to ensure that the match proceeded smoothly, including the time, tempo, temperature and atmosphere of the game. This point of view is very helpful for refereeing in Japan, so I would like to make the best use of this experience to create a good match environment.

YAMASHITA Yoshimi, Referee
I spent each day productively in England with matches of 3 different leagues and 2 referee camps. I am so grateful that PGMOL and JFA have given me this opportunity. PGMOL understands why EPL attracts people and I leant their approaches and actions to further develop the league during the referee training camps. It made me think what good points of Japan is and what I should do as a referee. I watched many matches at the stadium. In every town, we can see that fans are close to the field and players can hear their chanting. I felt the sense of unity there and it was impressive. I was able to have new and different view for refereeing activities in different environment. I will make good use of these experiences in my professional career.

KASAHARA Hiroki, Referee
I had a very good time in England for 3 weeks. Through participation in training camps of Select 1 Group (English Premier League Referees) and Select 2 Group (English Football League Referees) I learnt a lot and made great communications with referees and coaches. I had chances to watch EPL and EFL matches and experienced firsthand the football culture in England such as the high level of enthusiasm of the spectators and the wonderful atmosphere in the stadium. We have a long history of friendship between England and Japan, and I was able to make this visit to England based on the continuous efforts of many people who had been building this strong tie. I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who have contributed to this dispatch. Thank you very much. I would like to make use of the experience that I gained in this programme to my future referee activities.

SATO Ryuji, Referee Instructor
I had participated in this exchange program three times in the past as a referee, and I am very happy to be back in England this time as a referee instructor. I had the opportunity to reunite with many of top referees and coaches in Premier League and learn a lot through the select group meeting. The main feature of this meeting is to make the referees think for themselves instead of giving conclusions easily by the coaches. I was also impressed by the very positive participation of the EPL referees. I will make use of this experience into my life as an instructor, which has just begun.

The exchange program is to provide refereeing experience and training opportunities in different cultures and match environments, with the aim of improving refereeing in the future and fostering friendly relations between the two countries.