i-bill,
Not for long:
japan-emb.org.sg
Over the past decade, soccer has seen a tremendous surge in its popularity in Japan. With an estimated 720,000 participants nationwide, the 1997 White Paper on Leisure rated soccer the country's fourth most popular team sport. These numbers have increased by more than 50% since 1988.
Although Japan is a relative latecomer to professional soccer, the initiation of domestic professional league competition, in 1993, has had a clear impact on the level of play. During the elimination rounds for the 1998 World Cup, Japan's national soccer team won victories in its final 2 games over Kazakhstan and Iran, entitling it to represent Asia along with the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Iran in the upcoming championships in France. Japan will also be co-hosting (with the Republic of Korea) the World Cup, in 2002. Team organizers and sporting goods manufacturers alike are hoping that the present popularity of soccer will develop into a boom rivaling the sport in Europe and South America.
The Seeds of Growth
Introduction//J. League Professional Soccer//J. League Teams//The 2002 World Cup//Venues in Japan
Japan's organized soccer body, the Japan Football Association OFA), was established in 1921. In 1948, the national championship competition became known as the Emperor's Cup. In 1997, a preliminary field of over 3,000 teams competed in the Seventy-seventh Emperor's Cup tournament. The final match was held at the National Stadium in Yoyogi, Tokyo, on New Year's Day in 1998, and the Kashima Antlers won the championship.
According to the Sports White Paper issued by the Sasakawa Sports Foundation, soccer has become the second most widely practiced sport among boys in elementary school after baseball, with 24.9% participation for baseball as opposed to 21.7% for soccer. The same report notes that 61.3% of Japan's junior high schools have boys' soccer teams engaging in officially sanctioned play. Among high schools, the figure is only 19.7%, but this still represents over 180,000 players. In addition to these, clubs organized by companies, local municipalities, and others have grown in number. The figure of organized soccer clubs in Japan doubled between 1989 and 1994, and Japan presently has 22,100 organized clubs (including so-called mini soccer). The Football Association of Japan has seen a strong increase in total number of members registered, which reached 843,279 in 1995. |
