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Football in Japan

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Football in Japan
Jubilo Iwataplayers and fans celebrate a goal in theJ.League Cupin 2010.
CountryJapan
Governing bodyJapan Football Association
National team(s)men's national team
women's national team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Footballis among the most popular sports inJapan,[1][2][3]together withbaseball,tennis,golf,sumo,andcombat sports.[4]Its nationwide organization, theJapan Football Association,administers the professional football leagues, includingJ.League,which is considered by many the most successful football league in Asia.[5][6][7][8][9]Japan is also the country with the most comprehensively developed football in Asia in bothmenandwomenas well as in bothfutsalandbeach soccer.

Football

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See also:Japan Football Association § History

Although the official English name of theJapan Football Associationuses the term "football", the termsakkā(サッカー),derived from "soccer", is much more commonly used thanfuttobōru(フットボール).The JFA's Japanese name isNippon Sakkā Kyōkai.

Before World War II the term in general use wasshūkyū(Dẫm cầu,kick-ball),aSino-Japanese term.With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war,sakkābecame more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples beingFC TokyoandKyoto Sanga FC.

History

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The introduction of football in Japan is officially credited by the Japan Football Association, and numerous academic papers and books on the history of association football in Japan, to then Lieutenant-CommanderArchibald Lucius Douglasof the Royal Navy and his subordinates, who from 1873 taught the game and its rules to Japanese navy cadets while acting as instructors at theImperial Japanese Navy Academyin Tsukiji, Tokyo.[10][11][12][13]

The first official football match in Japan is widely believed to have been held on February 18, 1888, between theYokohama Country & Athletic ClubandKobe Regatta & Athletic Club.YC&AC is the oldest running association football club in Japan as Association Football was introduced into the club on December 25, 1886, for training sessions starting from January 1887. The first Japanese association football club, founded as a football club, is considered to beTokyo Shukyu-dan,founded in 1917, which is now competing in the Tokyo Prefectural amateur league.

In the 1920s, football associations were organised and regional tournaments began in universities and high schools especially in Tokyo. In 1930, theJapan national association football teamwas organised and had a 3–3 tie withChinafor their first title at theFar Eastern Championship Games.The Japan national team also participated in the1936 Berlin Olympic Games,the team had the first victory in an Olympic game with a 3–2 win over powerfulSweden.

Aside from the national cup, theEmperor's Cupestablished in 1921, there had been several attempts at creating a senior-level national championship. The first was the All Japan Works Football Championship (AJWFC), established in 1948 and open only to company teams. The second was the All Japan Inter-City Football Championship (AJICFC), established in 1955 and separating clubs by cities (any club, works, university or autonomous, could represent their home city and qualify) but the Emperor's Cup remained dominated by universities until the late 1950s. All these tournaments were cups followingsingle-eliminationformulas, similar toSerie Ain Italy before 1929.

The first organized national league, theJapan Soccer League,was organized in 1965 with eight amateur company clubs and replaced the AJWFC and AJICFC. At the1968 Mexico Olympic Games,the Japan national team, filled with the top JSL stars of the era, had its first big success winning third place and a bronze medal. Olympic success spurred the creation of a Second Division for the JSL and openings for the first few professional players, in the beginning, foreigners (mainly Brazilians), and a few from other countries, which also led to the country hosting its first international competition, the1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.Japanese players, however, remained an amateur, having to work day jobs for the companies owning the clubs (or other companies if their clubs were autonomous). This limited the growth of the Japanese game, and many better Japanese players had to move abroad to make a living off the game, such asYasuhiko Okudera,the first Japanese player to play in a professional European club, (1. FC Kölnof Germany).UEFAandCONMEBOLaided the Japanese awareness of football by having theIntercontinental Cupplayed in Tokyo as a neutral venue.

Japan national team at the2018 FIFA World Cupin Russia

In 1993, theJapan Professional Football League(commonly known as theJ.League) was formed replacing the semi-professional Japan Soccer League as the new top-level club competition in Japan.[14]It consisted of some of the top clubs from the old JSL, fully professionalized, renamed to fit communities and with the corporate identity reduced to a minimum.[15]The new higher-standard league attracted many more spectators and helped the sport to hugely increase in popularity. The professionalized league also offered, and offers, incentives for amateur non-company clubs to become part of their ranks with no major backing from a company; major examples of community, non-company-affiliated clubs who rose through theprefectural and regional ranksinto the major leagues areAlbirex NiigataandOita Trinita.

Japan participated in its first-ever World Cup tournament at the1998 FIFA World Cupheld in France. In 2002, Japan co-hosted the2002 FIFA World CupwithRepublic of Korea.After this, the association football communities of both countries received theFIFA Fair Play Award.The Japanese national team has reached the round of 16 on four occasions – as hosts in 2002, where they were knocked out by Turkey 1–0, in 2010, where they lost to Paraguay in penalties, in2018where they fell 2–3 to Belgium, and in the2022 FIFA World Cup.Japan also qualified for the2006 FIFA World Cupin Germany, the2010 FIFA World Cupin South Africa and the2014 FIFA World Cupin Brazil.

Football in fiction

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See also:Category:Association football in anime and manga

The first worldwide popular association football-oriented Japanese animation (manga) series,Captain Tsubasa,was started in 1981.Captain Tsubasawas extremely popular among children of both genders in Japan. Its success led to much more association football manga being written, and it played a great role in association football history in Japan. Playing football became more popular than playing baseball in many schools throughout Japan from the 1980s due to the series.[citation needed]

Captain Tsubasahas also inspired the likes of prominent footballers such asHidetoshi Nakata,[16]Seigo Narazaki,Zinedine Zidane,Francesco Totti,Fernando Torres,Christian Vieri,Giuseppe Sculli,James Rodríguez,Alexis Sánchez[17]andAlessandro Del Piero[18]to play association football and choose it as a career. The inspiration for the character ofTsubasa Oozoracame from a number of players, including most prominentlyMusashi Mizushima,arguably the first Japanese footballer to play abroad, and whose move toSão Paulo FCas a ten-year-old boy was partly mimicked in the manga.[19]

The animeGiant Killingrevolves around a team's efforts to go from one of the worst professional teams in Japan to the best. Other works focusing on football includeHungry Heart: Wild Striker(from the same author ofCaptain Tsubasa),The Knight in the Area,Days,Inazuma ElevenandBlue Lock.

Women's football

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Main article:Women's football in Japan

As in European countries, Japanesewomen's footballis organized on a promotion and relegation basis. The top flight of women's association football is the semi-professionalL. League(currently billed as theNadeshiko League). Most clubs are independent clubs, although the recent trend is to have women's sections of established J.League clubs.

Thenational teamhas enjoyed major success at theFIFA Women's World Cup,having achieved its greatest triumph ever by winning the2011 FIFA Women's World Cupin Germany[20]and finishing as runner-up in2015in Canada.

Small-sided football

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Championships and tournaments

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Domestic tournaments

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Other international tournaments held in Japan

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Japanese footballers

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See also:Category:Japanese footballers

Men's national team achievements

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Women's national team achievements

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Seasons in Japanese association football

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1920s: 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s: 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s: 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029

Football stadiums in Japan

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Stadiums with a capacity of 50,000 or higher are included.

See also:List of football stadiums in Japan
# Image Stadium Capacity City Region Built Home team(s)
1 Japan National Stadium 80,016 Tokyo Kantō region 2019 Japan national football team(some matches)
Japan national rugby union team
2 Nissan Stadium 72,327 Yokohama Kanagawa 1998 Yokohama F. Marinos
3 Saitama Stadium 2002 63,700 Saitama Kantō region 2001 Japan national football team(most matches)
Urawa Red Diamonds
4 Shizuoka Stadium 50,889 Fukuroi Shizuoka 2001 someJúbilo IwataandShimizu S-Pulsematches

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toAssociation football in Japan.

References

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  1. ^"Japanese baseball finds itself at a crossroads | Reuters".Reuters.July 12, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon July 12, 2021.
  2. ^"J-League History Part 1: Professional football begins in Japan".Goal.September 9, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2015.RetrievedDecember 12,2013.
  3. ^Blickenstaff, Brian (February 26, 2013)."Tom Byer, the man who made Japanese soccer a player on the world football stage".Slate.Archivedfrom the original on October 9, 2018.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  4. ^"The 8 Most Popular Sports in Japan".December 28, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2019.RetrievedAugust 8,2017.
  5. ^"Japan Comment: The Standard Of Football Is Rising In Japan – Time For The Media To Follow".Goal.November 10, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  6. ^"Asian Debate: Is The Japanese Game Losing Its Innocence?".Goal.October 24, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  7. ^"Japan raising eyebrows:: Total Football Magazine – Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Non-League News".Totalfootballmag.Archivedfrom the original on April 2, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  8. ^"Asian Cup Japan is On The Up".The New York Times.February 2, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on September 30, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  9. ^"The success of the J-League mirrors the success of Japan the country « World Soccer World Soccer".Worldsoccer. October 20, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon December 15, 2013.Retrieved2013-11-17.
  10. ^"History of the Japan Football Association".jfa.or.jp.Archivedfrom the original on April 21, 2015.RetrievedApril 1,2015.
  11. ^Horne, John; Horne, Professor of Modern European History John; Manzenreiter, Wolfram (September 23, 2004).Football Goes East: Business, Culture and the People's Game in East Asia.Routledge.ISBN9781134365586.Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 1,2015.
  12. ^Manzenreiter, Wolfram; Horne, John (August 14, 2007)."Playing the Post-Fordist Game in/to the Far East: The Footballisation of China, Japan and South Korea".Soccer & Society.8(4): 561–577.doi:10.1080/14660970701440899.
  13. ^Sport and Body Politics in Japan.Routledge. 2014.ISBN9781135022358.Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 1,2015.
  14. ^"Japan Wages Soccer Campaign".Christian Science Monitor.June 11, 1993.Archivedfrom the original on August 7, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  15. ^"Tokyo Journal; Japan Falls for Soccer, Leaving Baseball in Lurch – New York Times".The New York Times.June 6, 1994.Archivedfrom the original on August 7, 2019.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  16. ^"The Sunday Times".Timesonline.co.uk. November 10, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon January 6, 2006.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  17. ^"Los cracks que confesaron su admiración por los Supercampeones | Goal".goal.Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2019.RetrievedAugust 5,2019.
  18. ^"Leading News Resource of Pakistan".Daily Times. May 10, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon October 17, 2012.Retrieved2013-11-17.
  19. ^Football Goes East: Business, Culture and the People's Game in East Asia: The People's Game in China, Japan and Korea.Routledge. 2004.ISBN9780415318976.Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2023.RetrievedApril 2,2015.
  20. ^"Small-sided soccer turns Japan into big-time women's program".Chicago Tribune.May 19, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on October 28, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
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Awards
Preceded by FIFA Fair Play AwardWinner
2002 		Succeeded by
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