Epson Scores Overseas Training Attachment with Prestigious J-League Club for Singapore’s Budding Football Talent

Epson Scores Overseas Training Attachment with Prestigious J-League Club for Singapore’s Budding Football Talent

Singapore, 18 June 2015 – Technology leader Epson Singapore today announced a collaboration with the Football Association of Singapore to conduct an overseas training attachment for Singapore’s Under-14 players to the prestigious Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club, a professional club in Japan’s top tier J1 League. As part of the programme, three selected young footballers will have the rare opportunity to join the club’s youth training programme and participate in related activities from 22 to 28 June. The training attachment is part of Epson Singapore’s three-year sponsorship, since August 2013, worth $1 million with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), and is in line with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts for youth development.

Handpicked by the National Football Academy, Muhammad Nur Adam Bin Abdullah, Mohamad Hamizan bin Mohamad Hisham, and Elijah Lim will experience the daily lives of, and learn from, footballers associated with one of Japan’s leading clubs. The young players were shortlisted from 23 U-14 players by Senior Coach Robbie Servais, based on his assessment of their technical skills, attitude and discipline. More details of the players can be found in Annex 1.  

They will kick-start the trip with a welcome and press conference at the club’s renowned Alwin stadium, close to where many Epson’s facilities are based, before heading to the training ground. The youths will get to stay in the club’s hostel, interact withJapanese players, and experience a J-league match.

The holistic training attachment will also include a chance to experience the historic sites and explore the spectacular natural beauty of the region and visit Epson’s Monozukuri Museum, which offers a glimpse of Epson’s manufacturing history with exhibits ranging from the world’s first analog quartz watch to the latest innovative sporting and fitness products.

This collaboration is a result of long discussions between Epson, the Football Association of Singapore and Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club. Supported by many Epson employees in Japan, Epson has been the Club’s sponsor since 2005 and the shirt sponsor since 2006. Now in its first year in J1 and its fourth in the J-League overall, this is the first time that the Club has conducted an overseas training attachment as it opens links to Asia.

Said Ms Tan May Lin, General Manager, Epson Singapore (Sales Division), “Epson is happy to play its part in providing the best resources possible to groom Singapore’s future football stars. Through watching and training with one of Asia’s best professional teams, we hope that our youths will be motivated to pick up tactical tips and aspire towards being the best in the field. Beyond skills, we hope they will also bring home the essence of being a good sportsman, as they see values such as respect, discipline and the importance of teamwork come to life through the players.”