25th SEA Games, Laos

(KPL) Twenty two Lao delegates, who visited Fukushima, Japan from 1-6 June under the JENESYS programme as a part of Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 event, together with the same numbers of Japan and Mekong counterparts, finished their training and friendly tournament among six nations, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan.

A three-day round robin friendly tournament along with intensive training courses were held at J-village, a national football training center in Fukushima prefecture built in 1997.

Twenty two delegation members consisting of 18 football players aged around 15 years old, team manager, head coach, assistant coach and team doctor, who belong to Lao Football Federation, fought bravely against other teams; they beat Myanmar team by a score of 2-1 and lost to Vietnam by 0-1 on 3 June and won Cambodia by 3-0 and lost to Japan by 2-0 on 4 June.

The last day痴 match saw another victory of Lao players over Thailand by 2-1. according to former J-league player, Lao team is very much unified. They call to each other loudest and the coaches were always with the players.

Another big programme was given to the 100 youths in Tokyo, a JFA Kokoro project programme. It was a special programme targeted teenagers, in which former Japan internationals, Mr. Tsuyoshi Kitazawa, Mr. Yasuyuki Moroyama and former Japan Under-17 international, Mr. Jun Ideguchi served as lecturers to talk about life and dreams.The youth players also attended a J-League Nabisco Cup match between Omiya Ardija and Yokohama F.Marinos in Omiya on 7 June and paid a courtesy visit on Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 8 June before leaving for Vientiane on 9 June.

It is highly expected that Lao team members take full advantage of the intensive training so as to not only prepare for the upcoming first preliminary Asia Zone, but also be a part of building a stringer friendship among the Mekong region countries and Japan.