Five Nepali football coaches are set to get a feel of Japanese football during their six-day stay at home to one of the Asia’s footballing giants.

Megh Raj KC, Nabin Neupane, Sunil Shrestha, Rajendra Tamang and Yam Prasad Gurung have been invited by government of Japan under the ‘Sports for Tomorrow’ initiative, an international cooperation and exchange through sports scheme. The coaches are scheduled to leave for Tokyo on June 12 and return on June 19, informed the Japanese Embassy here.

All five coaches have earned the A-level coaching licence conduced for the first time in March and recognised by Fifa/Afc. They are among the only 14 Nepali coaches to acquire the licence in March. The Nepali coaches will participate in the Japan Football Association (JFA) instructor course as well as observe sports related facilities and organisations. Their four-day theoretical and practical sessions will basically be conducted at the second division J-League outfits Shonan Bellmare in Hiratsuka, South of Tokyo.   

Chisako Nishitani, Second Secretary (Information and Culture) at the Embassy of Japan said that the primary objective of the invitation was to introduce Japanese technical and coaching skills, and enforcement of competitive ability to sports instructors. “It will also help promote understanding Japanese sports management and the preparation for the Olympic Games,” said the Embassy in a brief media release. Tokya is hosting the Olympic Games in 2020.

All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) Technical Director Takeda Chiaki of Japan will supervise the Nepali coaches during their Japan stay. The 63-year-old Takeda joined Anfa in February last year under the JFA’s football development programme in Nepal. Takeda spent 20 years as a player from 1967-87 which included 10-year spell at Kuyou FC from 1977. He served as head coach at several clubs and was Coach Instructor of Tokyo FA from 1990-2008. Takeda acquired JFA Official Class A License in 2005.

Takeda said qualify instructors/coaches is key to developing football in any country and Nepal appears to realise it only recently by conducting the A-Level coaching licence. “Since I started by job (in February) last year, I have been monitoring games that Nepali players were involved including in the age-groups, clubs and national team,” said Takeda. “What I realised is the dearth of quality instructors and this initiative from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will to some extend expose some of them to what they really require.”

Takeda also compared Nepal to Japan in the 1980. “I see common things in Nepali football of now and that of Japanese football of 1980s. We too were struggling to raise our level during those times but among many other initiatives the improvement of instructors was key to the Japanese success story,” said Takeda. Japan are now one of the footballing giants in Asia, who regularly feature in the World Cup finals.

On the different note, Takeda praises the Nepali players for their better ball controlling quality. “They (Nepali players) are the best in the whole South Asian region in his respect,” added Takeda, who also believed that infrastructure is another key component in the development of football. “Nepal don’t have enough grounds and those that are in place are not even playable. So, it has to be addressed as soon as possible. Even artificial turf can solve the problem.” Takeda added that the Nepali players need to play beyond the South Asian region to better understand the footballing skills.