Author(s)

Hiroaki Matsuyama¹, Takahiro Matsutake², Hiroyuki Horino³, Hironobu Tsuchiya²

¹Graduate School of Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, Osaka, Japan.
²Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, Osaka, Japan.
³Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Conditions affecting the competitiveness of young group athletes in different countries were investigated through a comparative evaluation of opinions expressed by coaches and instructors dispatched overseas through the JFA Social Action Program in Asia. Results of a one-way analysis of variance on responses scores related to football teams in different countries, which was conducted after calculating group means and standard deviations indicated that physical strength and mental strength scores were significantly higher in teams of the high ranking group than in teams of low the ranking group classified according to FIFA rankings. These results suggest that there is an urgent need to establish football teams on a school wide basis and to become affiliated organizations of professional football clubs in countries in the low ranking group, in order to develop continuous training for each category of young athletes. Such training would be necessary to increase physical strength and decrease differences in physical strength between low and high ranking groups of countries. Similarly, it would be important for young athletes continue training, participate in games, and feel a sense of improvement and fulfillment in order to bridge the gap in mental strength scores between low and high ranking groups. A comprehensive balance between training, playing games, and a sense of fulfillment is expected to lead to prioritized training and to the development of a sense of pride among young athletes representing their country by playing football.

Japan Football Association (JFA), Social Action Programs in Asia, Overseas Dispatched Instructors, Football

Matsuyama, H. , Matsutake, T. , Horino, H. and Tsuchiya, H. (2015) Competitiveness of Young Football Players in the Japan Football Association Social Action Program. Advances in Physical Education, 5, 94-102. doi: 10.4236/ape.2015.52012.