JFA Hall of Fame Inductee

KAGAWA Hiroshi

Inductees Recommended by the Committee (Special Selection)

Born in Hyogo on 29 December 1924

First experiences football as a fifth-year pupil at Unchu Junior School in Kobe City, before going on to play at Kobe Daiichi Junior High School (now Hyogo Prefectural Kobe High School), Kobe University of Economics (now Kobe University) and Osaka Club. Appears in the East-West Students' Challenge Match and is a runner-up in two All-Japan Championship Tournaments (Emperor's Cup).

Contributes an article to a local newspaper on the visit of Swedish club Helsingborg to Japan in 1951, which serves as the trigger for Kagawa to pursue a career as a sportswriter. Joins the Sankei Shimbun newspaper in 1952, where he covers not only football but various different sports before serving as editor of Sankei Sports (Osaka) from 1974 to 1984. Continues in a freelance capacity after retirement, and remains active as a football journalist today after a career spanning some 60 years – in which he covered all nine FIFA World Cups from West Germany in 1974 to Germany in 2006, as well as five European Championships. In addition to the various international tournaments taking place in Japan, Kagawa's career sees him cover both the JSL and the J. League from their inauguration. He contributes not only to Sankei Sports but to various other football magazines, writing about both Japanese and world football from angles ranging from technical discussions to personal histories. In particular, his "World Cup journeys" featured in Soccer Magazine from 1974 see Kagawa adopt a novel, travel writer's approach to introduce stories of football from around the world. His deep affection for football and those who love the sport is expertly reflected in his prose, as he continues to deliver both knowledge and dreams from global football to fans in Japan.

Continues to devote himself to the development of football in ways other than writing – Kagawa was also involved in the organisation of the fifth- and sixth-place playoff matches (Osaka tournament) for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 and the foundation of Kobe Football Club in 1970, and serves as a long-standing member of the board of the Kansai Football Association.

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  KAGAWA Taro
• Dettmar CRAMER