Japan Football Association (JFA) has devoted its efforts to strengthen Japan Women's National Team and managed to win the title of FIFA Women's World Cup at each category. With Japan’s bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ and the kick-off of the WE League (Women’s Professional Football League) next autumn, the women’s football is about to enter a new era in Japan. Also, in efforts to develop and strengthen teams, players, and referees overseas, JFA has dispatched many coaches to various countries and regions since 1992. Here we will introduce an interview conducted with Ms. KAWAMOTO Naoko, Coach of U-15 & U-18 Mongolia Women's National Team, where she shared her story on how she became a coach and her future goals.
*This interview was conducted remotely via online video conference on Tuesday, 2 June.
――What inspired you to become a coach?
KAWAMOTO After retiring as a player, I studied abroad in the USA for about half a year to learn English. During this stay, I was asked about my career, and I was not able to describe my life without mentioning football, which really made me realise how much football meant to me. Once returning to Japan, I started coaching football at a kindergarten, and eventually made my way up to the U-12 and U-15 category. It was during this time when I came to realise how much I enjoyed coaching kids and seeing them grow in first-hand. .....
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