PRESS RELEASES

JENESYS 2.0: ASEAN-Japan Football Exchange

1 April 2014

    From 1 April to 9 April, about 240 youths, who have been selected as up-and-coming U-14 football players toward the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020, from 11 countries (10 ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste) are visiting Japan under JENESYS 2.0.

    The concept of this football exchange was introduced by the Japanese Prime Minister Abe during the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in Tokyo last December, and was welcomed by the ASEAN leaders.

    Participants will first visit Osaka to have an orientation session, pay a courtesy call on Sakai City, and undergo football trainings. From 3 April to 6 April, 12 teams including one from Japan will take part in “ASEAN-Japan Youth Football Exchange” and play a match organized by Japan Football Association (JFA) at J-Green Sakai stadium. Then they will watch a J-League match, observe a football facility in Tokyo, and experience the sports-related “Cool Japan”. On 8 April, they will pay a courtesy call on government officials.

    This programme is expected to deepen friendship among participating youths, to enable them to deepen their understandings in Japanese values as well as Japan’s strengths and attractions, and to disseminate their experiences to their respective countries.