JFA Hall of Fame Inductee

HANDA Etsuko

Special Selection: 21st Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2025

Born in Shizuoka Prefecture on 10 May 1965

HANDA Etsuko joined the Shimizudaihachi Sports Club in 1980. From 1980 to 1986, she won the All Japan Women's Football Championship (now the Empress Cup JFA All Japan Women's Football Championship) for seven consecutive years, and in 1982, at the age of 17, she was named the tournament's best player.

With the establishment of the Japan Ladies Soccer League (later the Japan Women’s Football League) in 1989, she moved to Shimizu FC Ladies (Suzuyo Shimizu FC Lovely Ladies from 1990). In addition to winning the first league championship, she also won the player of the year award. By 1996, she had played 131 games in the league, scoring 73 goals.

She was selected for the Japan Women's National Team in 1981, when the team was first formed, and in the third round of the 4th Asian Women's Championship (now the AFC Women's Asian Cup), which she participated in for the first time that year (against Indonesia), she scored the first goal in the history of the national team, and that one goal was the winning goal, contributing to the first victory in the history of the national team.

She continued to participate in the AFC Women's Championship, Asian Games, FIFA Women's World Championship (now FIFA Women's World Cup), and the 26th Olympic Games (1996/Atlanta), scoring 19 goals in 75 international A-match appearances.

• 
  SUZUKI Tamotsu
• KIOKA Futaba