Mr. Mohd Hossein Alizadeh, the academy director of the Iran football federation, visited Japan and inspected the JFA Academy Fukushima and Kawasaki Frontale in his five-day stay from 31 March to 4 April. This inspection was part of the partnership MOU between the Japan Football Association and Iran football federation, which was concluded in August, 2014.

The observation began at JFA Academy Fukushima, who are currently based in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. After watching training session of U-18 men’s academy team, chief coach NAKATA Yasuhito explained the outlines of the JFA Academy.

On 2 April, he visited Kawasaki Frontale and was lectured about the club's academy system. After that, he watched a fifth section of Meiji Yasuda J1 League game between Kawasaki Frontale and Kashima Antlers at Todoroki Stadium. On the final day, he came to the JFA House and the staff of technical department explained the National Training Center system.

Iran football federation academy director’s Comment

Mr. Mohd Hossein Alizadeh, academy director
Through the inspections, we were able to understand Japanese football's academy system and their development know-hows. The academy that we run in Iran is subject for 13 years old and under, but going forward, we think it's better to run academy that is subject for every age group.

In the near future, we would like to revisit Japan on exchange programmes for youth players and coaches, developing our partnerships of the professional leagues and associations between the two countries. We would like to express our appreciation for the hospitality.