Lessons for Singapore boys from Matsumoto Mamaga stint
Stint with Matsumoto Yamaga leaves Singapore boys with lessons and memories, including that of a J-League clash
Why do the Japanese do well in football?
Besides the hardware in the form of infrastructure, corporate support and organisation, there is also the heart-ware.
In other words, the player's passion for the game and relentless drive for excellence.
That is what Singapore Under-14 footballer Nur Adam Abdullah took home from his week-long exchange programme with J-League club Matsumoto Yamaga.
Said Adam: "I learnt from the Japanese that on and off the pitch, you should have a good attitude in everything you do.
"They are polite and kind, but also very serious about what they do.
"The footballers play a quick passing game, and practise very hard to be good at it.
"From our interaction with the Yamaga academy players, we know we can still improve on our ball work and skills."
Last Saturday, Adam and his U-14 teammates Hamizan Hisham and Elijah Lim experienced what it's like to be at the centre of an electrifying J-League match when they walked out to the field in front of 15,456 fans at the Alwin Stadium, the home of Yamaga.
They may have been trotting out the Fifa Fair Play flag - the main attraction was the Matsumoto Yamaga v Shonan Bellmare J-League clash - but the charged atmosphere left an indelible impression on the boys, who all dream of representing their country in front of thousands of their own.
After exchanging pennants with his Yamaga counterparts, Hamizan said: "It feels so special to have so many people cheering you, and I hope I can one day experience this at home."
J-LEAGUE
The boys' stint with the J-League Division 1 side, which ended last Saturday, was part of a collaboration between Epson Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
Epson has been the main sponsors of Matsumoto Yamaga since 2009, while Epson Singapore signed a three-year deal with the FAS in 2013, worth around $1 million.
Over the past week, the trio took part in the Japanese team's youth training programme.
They stayed in the club's dormitory and attended Yamaga's league match against Bellmare last Saturday, when they witnessed unyielding home support, despite Yamaga losing 3-2 in a pulsating encounter.
Before the game, the National Football Academy boys joined some 200 volunteers to help out with match-day duties - they cleaned a section of the stadium seats and handed out goodie bags - as fans started streaming in four hours before the 7pm kick-off.
Takeshi Yamazaki, Matsumoto Yamaga's academy director, praised the Singaporeans' ability to adapt in a short space of time and said: "The boys are bright and have a good learning attitude.
"If they keep training hard and improving, they will be successful footballers in the future."
Like his teammates, Adam will make use of his experience in Japan as a launchpad in his fledgling football career.
He said: "The atmosphere at the stadium, where the fans cheered for 90 minutes and the game was played at a high tempo, made it an unforgettable night.
"I will also remember fondly the high-intensity training we had in the cold and in the rain with our new Japanese friends. We want to thank everyone who helped to make this learning opportunity possible."
David Lee's trip is courtesy of Epson Singapore, official partner of the Football Association of Singapore and the official office equipment partner of the FAS.
"The atmosphere at the stadium, where the fans cheered for 90 minutes and the game was played at a high tempo, made it an unforgettable night."
- Singapore Under-14 footballer Nur Adam Abdullah on the J-League clash between Matsumoto Yamaga and Shonan Bellmare last Saturday
BY THE Numbers
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J-League club Matsumoto Yamaga, who are 15th in the 18-team table, may not be among the league leaders, but that has not dampened home support. Fans started streaming in to their home match against Shonan Bellmare four hours before kick-off last Saturday.
Football is Epson's kind of brand
Even in its relentless pursuit of innovation in compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies, Japanese electronics company Epson has also consistently developed equipment and partnerships to better deliver the priceless moments of agony and ecstasy of sport to a global audience.
Its first involvement in sport was in 1964 when, as part of the Seiko Group, it was named the official timekeeper of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
It invented a compact, desktop quartz timer - the Seiko Crystal Chronometer QC-951 was a portable, low-power timer that provided outstanding accuracy, and the printing timer, a groundbreaking device then that combined a time counter and a printing mechanism.
The Epson brand was established in 1975 and, since then, it has provided equipment and technical support for Winter Olympics in Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002.
From 1997 to 2009, Epson sponsored the track and field world championships by developing a web-terminal equipped Commentator Information System and an Epson Performance Evaluation System, which measures distances based on video images.
Over the last few years, Epson has also become the official office equipment partner of football giants Manchester United, and is also Formula 1 leader Mercedes' preferred supplier and team partner for inkjet printers, scanners, 3LCD projectors and wearables that include smart glasses and health/sport sensing products.
PROUD HISTORY
Speaking to The New Paper about its various partnerships, Epson Singapore general manager (regional - marketing support) Alvin Tan said: "As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Epson brand, we look at a proud history of sporting partnerships that goes back even before 1975.
"We are also partners with the Asian Football Confederation, and these relationships will help Epson achieve its goal of becoming a company that contributes to the communities in which it operates.
"Our aim for working with these leading brands is to help raise the profile of our brand, showcase our advanced products and technologies, and deepen our customer relationships worldwide."
Besides engaging world-class outfits, Epson does not neglect its corporate social responsibility.
Epson has been the main sponsor of newly promoted J-League side Matsumoto Yamaga since 2009, while Epson Singapore also signed a three-year deal with the Football Association of Singapore in 2013, worth around $1 million.
Three promising Singapore Under-14 footballers from the National Football Academy - Hamizan Hisham, Nur Adam Abdullah and Elijah Lim - spent a week on an exchange programme with the J.League Division 1 side, as part of a collaboration between Epson Singapore and the FAS.
Rikram Jit, FAS assistant director (commercial and business development), said: "We are honoured and humbled to have Epson on board as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the continued development of local football at all levels.
"The partnership with Epson is multi-level and has been mutually beneficial. It also demonstrates the importance of having the support from all factions of the community, including corporates, to sustain the growth of local football."
"The partnership with Epson is multi-level and has been mutually beneficial. It also demonstrates the importance of having the support from all factions of the community, including corporates, to sustain the growth of local football."
- Rikram Jit, FAS assistant director (commercial and business development)
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