For the England team and the fans who made their voyage half way around the World, the 2002 FIFA World Cup represented an unforgettable experience.

The tournament itself was spectacular from the opening game with many memorable moments that made us cheer and shout like never before, but also shed tears with thoughts of what could have been. But what most people will bring back with them is how welcoming the nations of Korea and, to an even greater extent, Japan - where England played all of their games - were to supporters of the beautiful game.

The sheer level of respect shown by the Japanese was remarkable, with every England fan living off the image of David Beckham and the rest of the Three Lions.

It was therefore a great honour to have a rising star of Japanese football administration at The Football Association's Soho offices during September.

Here he talks about his time with us, how the Japanese became passionate about the England team at the World Cup and why the real 'highlights' of the Tournament can still be seen on the heads of young Japanese...

Since September 2nd, I have been in England, the birthplace of football, where I am attending a four-week, short-term training program with The Football Association. That is why I am sincerely grateful that I have had this opportunity to undertake a one-month training program with The FA

In Japan, I worked at JAWOC, the Japan Organising Committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Now that the World Cup has been successfully concluded, the world of Japanese football has entered a new era. In that context, there is a need for those of us involved in Japanese football to gather new knowledge and insight which will help us move to the next level.

Welcoming the birthplace of football to Japan

Prior to the hosting of the World Cup, England was the focus of attention in Japan regarding two things. There was the matter of hooliganism, but also interest was focused on developments surrounding star player Beckham. Fortunately, in the end, the World Cup took place without any problems at all stemming from hooliganism. Indeed, the people who reside in the regions of Japan where matches took place enjoyed friendly exchanges around the stadiums as one example of the fact that as things played out the negative image towards England that was held by some Japanese could be completely erased and replaced with a positive one.

 

Regarding Beckham, the Japanese media paid close attention to the England team throughout the World Cup, so much so that nowadays "Beckham hair" has become the rage among fashionable young Japanese. The match played between England and Argentina was a high focal point among Japanese viewers, and I certainly believe that most Japanese supported England in that match.

When England lost to Brazil in the quarter finals many Japanese fans were deeply saddened. It is absolutely clear that the number of supporters of English football in Japan has greatly increased.

As someone involved in organizing the event I was deeply grateful that on many occasions staff members of The FA visited Japan and were very cooperative in communicating and helping JAWOC and others involved with organisation on the Japan side to successfully prepare for the World Cup. I believe that compared to any other participating team, there were more e-mails, letters, telephone conversations and meetings held with people from the England team.

England was able to defeat the ominous Argentines and the Nigerians, and advanced forward from the "group of death". I also got the impression that the services that The FA organized and provided to English fans were superior to other participating teams.

An unforgettable experience

To be honest, until I came here and saw the situation for myself I had absolutely no idea how The FA is organised. I can still vividly remember how overwhelmed I felt on that day when I first visited your offices in Soho. During my four-week stay I was fortunate to be assigned to several divisions and had opportunities to speak with many staff members. Everything that I heard and saw during my stay was new and informative for me and every day was an ongoing learning experience of new discoveries.

 

The challenges undertaken by The FA both on the pitch and off the pitch were marvelous beyond what I had imagined. There is so much for us to learn from the physical football ground all the way up to your approach to top management, including; the way you strengthen your national team, the international contributions you make through football, grassroots developments, efforts to promote and strengthen the women's football, the comprehensive FA website and the efficient office making full use of IT. Indeed, I strongly feel that England is a treasure house for knowledge and resources related to football.

For me as a person, the experience, information, know-how and network of personal contacts that I developed during this short training program is a precious asset which I intend to make great use of in working toward the further development of football in Japan.

Hiroshi Nogami