"YKK Corporation, a multinational company of Japan, has come forward to boost-up the toddlers as well as aspiring local promising football coaches through a three-day football clinic naming "Just For Kicks."
The football clinic began at the BUET ground on Thursday morning with 300 under-14 footballers and 30 coaches taking part in the programme under the auspices of Bangladesh Football Federation. A four-member experts drawn from famous Italian Serie A team AS Roma are conducting the clinic.
YKK Holding Asia Private Limited (YHA) as part of its corporate social responsibility has taken the initiative to develop the soccer from the grassroots and started its move last year by organising the first football clinic in Singapore where over 400 boys and girls received first-hand soccer knowledge from Japanese coaches.
The resounding success has prompted the YKK (Yoshida Kogyo Kabuskigaisya) to bring the project to other regions where the world's leading fastening manufacturer has business presence.
This was disclosed by Ken Nakano, Managing Director of YHA, Asia, at a press conference at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on Thursday afternoon. Bangladesh Football Federation vice-presidents Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Sawkat Ali Khan Jahangir, Hiroaki Nakmura, resident representative of YHA in Bangladesh, Maurizio Ramon Turone, head-coach of the project and coach Morris Pagniello from AS Roma also spoke on the occasion.

Ken Nakano gave a brief account of YKK, which was founded in 1934, and said his corporation offers various products and services in the field of fastening products, machinery, engineering and agricultural products and it has already spread its business in 70 countries splitting into six regions. The YKK has decided to run such short football clinic this year in Bangladesh and Indonesia, said Nakano.

"It is important for YKK to contribute and work with local community. I believe that this event will bring great joy to all the children in Bangladesh and Indonesia. We want to support their growth through this football event," said Nakano.

Hiroaki Nakmura replying to a query told the newsmen that it depends on the success of the ongoing clinic in Dhaka whether his corporation would go for another programme in Bangladesh in near future. Morris Pagniello said it would not possible for them to teach football lesson to the toddlers within three days. "But I think the boys would get inspiration to build them as the future players of the nation," said Pagniello, a former pro-Italian footballer. Head coach Maurizio Ramon Turone, who watched the training of the Bangladesh national team at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday, said there is enough room for improvement in every department. "Only hard work could overcome it, said Ramon, a living AS Roma legend.

BFF members and two local coaches Hasanuzzaman Baloo and Satyajit Das Rupu along with newly appointed Mohammedan Sporting coach Maroof are acting co-ordinators in the clinic. They selected 300 players of  12-14 age group from 14 local schools on the basis of their performance in the last school soccer tournament."