Football in Japan

Last updated

Football in Japan
11 - 18 - 15 -21 -ji.jpg
Jubilo Iwata players and fans celebrate a goal in the J.League Cup in 2010.
CountryJapan
Governing body JFA
National team(s) Men's team
Women's team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Football is among the most popular sports in Japan, [1] [2] [3] together with baseball, tennis, golf, sumo, and combat sports. [4] Its nationwide organization, the Japan Football Association, administers the professional football leagues, including J.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 both men and women as well as in both futsal and beach soccer.

Contents

Football

Although the official English name of the Japan Football Association uses the term "football", the term sakkā (サッカー), derived from "soccer", is much more commonly used than futtobōru (フットボール). The JFA's Japanese name is Nippon Sakkā Kyōkai.

Before World War II the term in general use was shūkyū (蹴球, kick-ball), a Sino-Japanese term. With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war, sakkā became more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples being FC Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga FC.

History

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-Commander Archibald Lucius Douglas of the Royal Navy and his subordinates, who from 1873 taught the game and its rules to Japanese navy cadets while acting as instructors at the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 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 the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club and Kobe 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 be Tokyo 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, the Japan national association football team was organised and had a 3–3 tie with China for their first title at the Far Eastern Championship Games. The Japan national team also participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, the team had the first victory in an Olympic game with a 3–2 win over powerful Sweden.

Aside from the national cup, the Emperor's Cup established 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 following single-elimination formulas, similar to Serie A in Italy before 1929.

The first organized national league, the Japan Soccer League, was organized in 1965 with eight amateur company clubs and replaced the AJWFC and AJICFC. At the 1968 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, the 1979 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 as Yasuhiko Okudera, the first Japanese player to play in a professional European club, (1. FC Köln of Germany). UEFA and CONMEBOL aided the Japanese awareness of football by having the Intercontinental Cup played in Tokyo as a neutral venue.

Japan national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia Japan fans Russia 2018.jpg
Japan national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

In 1993, the Japan Professional Football League (commonly known as the J.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 the prefectural and regional ranks into the major leagues are Albirex Niigata and Oita Trinita.

Japan participated in its first-ever World Cup tournament at the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France. In 2002, Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Republic of Korea. After this, the association football communities of both countries received the FIFA 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, in 2018 where they fell 2–3 to Belgium, and in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Japan also qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Football in fiction

The first worldwide popular association football-oriented Japanese animation (manga) series, Captain Tsubasa , was started in 1981. Captain Tsubasa was 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 Tsubasa has also inspired the likes of prominent footballers such as Hidetoshi Nakata, [16] Seigo Narazaki, Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, Fernando Torres, Christian Vieri, Giuseppe Sculli, James Rodríguez, Alexis Sánchez [17] and Alessandro Del Piero [18] to play association football and choose it as a career. The inspiration for the character of Tsubasa Oozora came from a number of players, including most prominently Musashi Mizushima, arguably the first Japanese footballer to play abroad, and whose move to São Paulo FC as a ten-year-old boy was partly mimicked in the manga. [19]

The anime Giant Killing revolves around a team's efforts to go from one of the worst professional teams in Japan to the best. Other works focusing on football include Hungry Heart: Wild Striker (from the same author of Captain Tsubasa), The Knight in the Area , Days , Inazuma Eleven and Blue Lock .

Women's football

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

The national team has enjoyed major success at the FIFA Women's World Cup, having achieved its greatest triumph ever by winning the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany [20] and finishing as runner-up in 2015 in Canada.

Small-sided football

Championships and tournaments

Domestic tournaments

Other international tournaments held in Japan

Japanese footballers

Men's national team achievements

Women's national team achievements

Seasons in Japanese association football

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

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

#ImageStadiumCapacityCityRegionBuiltHome team(s)
1 Kokuritsu Kasumigaoka Rikujo Kyogijo 191221f.jpg Japan National Stadium 80,016 Tokyo Kantō region 2019 Japan national football team (some matches)
Japan national rugby union team
2 NISSANSTADIUM20080608.JPG Nissan Stadium 72,327 Yokohama Kanagawa 1998 Yokohama F. Marinos
3 Saitama stadium.jpg Saitama Stadium 2002 63,700 Saitama Kantō region 2001 Japan national football team (most matches)
Urawa Red Diamonds
4 Ecopa030304.jpg Shizuoka Stadium 50,889 Fukuroi Shizuoka 2001some Júbilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse matches

See also

Attendances

Average home attendance figures of the 2024 J1 League:

#Football clubAverage attendance [21]
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 36,537
2 FC Tokyo 33,249
3 Nagoya Grampus 28,368
4 Gamba Osaka 25,621
5 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 25,526
6 Yokohama F. Marinos 23,841
7 Kashima Antlers 22,451
8 Albirex Niigata 22,142
9 Kawasaki Frontale 20,936
10 Vissel Kobe 20,807
11 Tokyo Verdy 20,676
12 Machida Zelvia 17,947
13 Cerezo Osaka 17,722
14 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 16,828
15 Júbilo Iwata 13,810
16 Kyoto Sanga 13,341
17 Kashiwa Reysol 11,980
18 Shonan Bellmare 11,211
19 Sagan Tosu 9,554
20 Avispa Fukuoka 9,284

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J1 League</span> Association football league in Japan

The J1 League, a.k.a. the J.League or the Meiji Yasuda J1 League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Japan Professional Football League system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian professional club football history. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. It was known as the J.League from 1993 to 1998 before becoming a two-division league, and as J.League Division 1 from 1999 to 2014. Vissel Kobe successfully defended their second consecutive title in the 2024 season, after previously winning it in the 2023 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urawa Red Diamonds</span> Association football club in Japan

The Urawa Red Diamonds, colloquially Urawa Reds, also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name comes from the former city of Urawa, now part of Saitama. It is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won three AFC Champions League titles, and varied domestic titles, including a joint-record eight overall Emperor's Cup titles. It participated three times at the FIFA Club World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokyo Verdy</span> Japanese professional football club

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Football Confederation</span> International governing body for association football, beach football, and futsal

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC that managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, British Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986, ALFC merged with AFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan national football team</span> Mens association football team

The Japan national football team, also known by the nickname Samurai Blue, represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamba Osaka</span> Football club

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a local rivalry with Osaka city-based Cerezo Osaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emperor's Cup</span> Football tournament

The Emperor's Cup JFA All-Japan Football Championship Tournament, commonly known as The Emperor's Cup or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, current JFL and their predecessor, Japan Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Football Association</span> Governing body of association football in Japan

The Japan Football Association is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J.League</span> Association football league in Japan

The Japan Professional Football League, commonly a.k.a. shortened to the J.League, and officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J.League for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, including the J1, J2 and J3 leagues. Established in 1993 as Asia's first professional football league, it has been one of the most successful leagues in Asia. Originally founded as a single division, in 1999, the second division J2 League was established, followed by the third division J3 League in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan women's national football team</span> Womens national association football team representing Japan

The Japan women's national football team, commonly known as Nadeshiko Japan (なでしこジャパン), represents Japan in women's association football and is run by the Japan Football Association (JFA). One of the two countries to win every FIFA competition and the most successful women's national team in the Asian Football Confederation, its highest ranking in the FIFA Women's World Rankings is 3rd, achieved in December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Uzbekistan</span>

Sports in Uzbekistan includes sports that are played worldwide, such as football, boxing, wrestling, futsal, and judo, as well as sports that originate in the country such as kurash, which is a type of upright wrestling, belbogli kurash, turon, and boyqurgan. Uzbekistan will host the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup and the 2025 Asian Youth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryoichi Maeda</span> Japanese footballer (born 1981)

Ryoichi Maeda is a Japanese football coach and former player who played as a forward. He currently works as an assistant coach for the Japan national team.

The Japan national futsal team, nicknamed Samurai Five, represents Japan in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Japan Football Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shūichi Gonda</span> Japanese footballer (born 1989)

Shūichi Gonda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Shimizu S-Pulse. He also represented the Japan national team at the 2014 and 2022 FIFA World cup.

Sportstars, formerly known as MNC Sports, is an Indonesian satellite and cable sports television channel owned by Media Nusantara Citra through MVN and iNews Media Group. The in-house channel was launched on 5 September 2005, making it considered as the first sports channel in the country. The channel is available on satellite providers MNC Vision and K-Vision, as well as MNC Play, and Vision+.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mana Iwabuchi</span> Japanese footballer (born 1993)

Mana Iwabuchi is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. She was most recently with Tottenham Hotspur and has previously played for Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, 1899 Hoffenheim, and Tottenham Hotspur. She has also represented the Japan national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan national under-23 football team</span> National association football team

The Japan national under-23 football team is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and were champions in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Since 1992, it was decided that teams targeting athletes under the age of 23 will participate in the Olympics. Therefore, the name changes to Japan national under-22 football team the year before the Olympics and Japan national under-21 football team two years prior. The exception to this was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed one year, so in 2021, the team was called the Japan national under-24 football team. At the 2024 Olympics, they advanced to the Knockout stage without three overage players and several key players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Young-gwon</span> South Korean footballer (born 1990)

Kim Young-gwon is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Ulsan HD and the South Korea national football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risa Shimizu (footballer)</span> Japanese footballer

Risa Shimizu is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a right-back for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Japan national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayase Ueda</span> Japanese footballer (born 1998)

Ayase Ueda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club Feyenoord and the Japan national team.

References

  1. ↑ "Japanese baseball finds itself at a crossroads | Reuters". Reuters . July 12, 2021. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ "J-League History Part 1: Professional football begins in Japan". Goal.com. September 9, 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ Blickenstaff, Brian (February 26, 2013). "Tom Byer, the man who made Japanese soccer a player on the world football stage". Slate.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ "The 8 Most Popular Sports in Japan". December 28, 2016. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Japan Comment: The Standard Of Football Is Rising In Japan – Time For The Media To Follow". Goal.com. November 10, 2009. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Asian Debate: Is The Japanese Game Losing Its Innocence?". Goal.com. October 24, 2009. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Japan raising eyebrows :: Total Football Magazine – Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Non-League News". Totalfootballmag.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Asian Cup Japan is On The Up". The New York Times . February 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ "The success of the J-League mirrors the success of Japan the country « World Soccer World Soccer". Worldsoccer.com. October 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  10. ↑ "History of the Japan Football Association". jfa.or.jp. Archived from the original on April 21, 2015. Retrieved April 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. ISBN   9781134365586. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved April 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. ISBN   9781135022358. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Japan Wages Soccer Campaign". Christian Science Monitor. June 11, 1993. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Tokyo Journal; Japan Falls for Soccer, Leaving Baseball in Lurch – New York Times". The New York Times . June 6, 1994. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ "The Sunday Times". Timesonline.co.uk. November 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 6, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Los cracks que confesaron su admiración por los Supercampeones | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. May 10, 2002. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  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. ISBN   9780415318976. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Small-sided soccer turns Japan into big-time women's program". Chicago Tribune. May 19, 2012. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  21. ↑ https://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/jpn-j1-league-2024/1/
Awards
Preceded by FIFA Fair Play Award Winner
2002		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.