Jane Simms, the daughter of the NCEL Referees Assessing Co-Ordinator, has just returned from a two week exchange visit to Japan with another English female referee, Lucy May.

Two Japanese female referees will visit England in 2013 to complete an exchange between the two countries.

Jane, who refereed the NCEL Presidents Cup Final at Winterton last season, was promoted to Class 3 for season 2012/13.

Whilst in Japan, Jane and Lucy refereed four games between them in the Japanese Women's Leagues, the Nadeshiko and the Challenge League.

Jane's first game was Takatsuki v Urawa Reds, a televised match played in Osaka which is a bullet train ride from Tokyo.

After a few days sightseeing, training and meeting the media, Jane then attended a Futsal World Cup warm up match between Japan and Brazil.

The interpreter during their visit was Nishimura Yuichi who was Howard Webb's fourth official from the World Cup 2010 Final in South Africa.

The photograph below shows Jane and Lucy sightseeing at the Golden Temple, Rokuonji, in Kyoto.