Summary: Anto is once again joined by grassroots and youth development guru Tom Byer from Tokyo, Japan for a very special announcement on his immediate future that will introduce him to the biggest challenge of his professional career, taking his work and his message to the emerging nation of China who stand to produce the largest pool of young talent in the history of the sport. Tom grew up in America but moved to Japan nearly 25 years ago when opportunities for soccer players were extremely limited in the 1980s, but its the second part of his career that has taken him across the world with a very unique message. He has conducted more than 2,000 soccer events for more than 500,000 children and appeared on a nationally televised daily show for 13 years in which Tom has been the foundation for the development of soccer technical training for a Japanese nation which has found unprecedented success at the international level. And now he is taking this technical training system and message to China, a country with more than 300 million children under the age of 14 with incredible resources and ambition for football, a perfect marriage of means and brilliance which could see this giant emerge like no other nation in the next 5-15 years in this game. Tom takes us through his recent travels around the world where he has delivered his message for youth development and how this landmark opportunity came about and what some of the challenges will be once he arrives in China. This is an exclusive interview with what could be the very first important steps of seeing the most populous nation in the world embrace football and could change perceptions about the Chinese game and the sport in the Far East for generations to come. Tom Byer, also known as Tomsan in Japan, is synonymous with excellence in developing technical skills at the grassroots level and has had a large hand in the development of both the boys and girls programs within the JFA Elite program and many of the best Japanese players on the world stage today find their foundation in the work that he has done over the years.
