The objective of the 15th All Japan Seniors (over 50) football tournament is to promote football among older generations and encourage football to be enjoyed as a life-long sport.

In this issue, we cast spotlight on Chiba Shijukara SC (Kanto 1/ Chiba) who make their first appearance this year.

The Chiba Shijukara SC who are enjoying 46 year of rich history and tradition has about 100 members. They played in two Japan Sports Masters while they had football events for players over 40 years old. (In the current regulations, players of 35 years old or older can participate.) In terms of the over-50 category, the club finally reached a national tournament after repeatedly losing in the Kanto regional tournament in the past two years.

The team had two unique aspects. One is various backgrounds their players have. General manager SEKI Shigetomo says “In many cases in this generation, teams get established when players want to play again with their school days peers or post-graduate peers. But in our team, guys who simply want to play football got together and made this team. So we have a pride in our unity and a pride as underdogs.” Defender ARASHI Takuya adds “every player is different regarding career and its peak. But I think we can show interesting football once individual abilities come as one.”

The second trait is strong defence and teamwork. In the prefecture and Kanto regional tournaments, their defenders helped the team reach the national tournament by not allowing a single goal all the way through. KOBAYASHI Masaki who has led the defence line in the preliminary tournaments, “we have built this team with the concept of solid defence. In the national tournament again, we want to create good rhythm with defence and carry it over to offence to win one match at a time.”

The basis of the said teamwork is each player’s attitude toward winning. “If you really stick to your win-loss results, it’s tiring. But it’s a positive fatigue. That can revitalize our life,” says Seki jokingly. Arashi adds, “It’s good to play for fun. I also play football simply to enjoy it sometimes. But with this team, winning is the first objective. It gets interesting when you play very seriously.” The team have worked hard as everyone involved aims to win each match presented in front of them.

In the past several years, Chiba Shijukara have had training trips to Hawaii, Thailand and Indonesia as well as to domestic camp sites to further improve themselves. Seki, the team’s general manager, enthusiastically says of their intensity, “In the tournaments last year and two years ago, the team out of the Kanto region won the national championship. We have a pride in ourselves as the Kanto champions this year. So we want to advance to the final round by all means in the first place.”

The All Japan Seniors (over 50) football tournament finally kicks off on Saturday 25 with every team’s aspirations for the championship colliding with each other.

The 15th All Japan Seniors (over 50) football tournament

Sat. 25 June 2016 - Mon. 27 June
Akita/Akigin Stadium, Yabase Sports Park Field, Yabase Sports Park Kenkouhiroba

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