SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) started their preparations on Monday 30 May for the KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2016. The 25 players, including two new faces, participated in the tournament under the instruction of coach Vahid HALILHODZIC. The team beat Bulgaria 7-2 in their first game, but lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in the final, finishing in second place.

In between training and games, SAMURAI BLUE supporting those who were affected by the Kumamoto earthquake in mid-April. This article will focus on these activities. 

Raising funds prior to the training session on Monday 30 May

All the players of SAMURAI BLUE gathered together for the first time on Monday 30 May. Prior to a practice session in Toyota City Sports Park, the coach Vahid HALILHODZIC and the 25 players lined up in front of the stadium in order to collect money from fans, who came to watch them train. Although it lasted only 20 minutes due to the practice schedule, they raised 96,901 yen in total from more than 200 people.

Donations from all the SAMURAI BLUE and staff

The captain HASEBE Makoto led a discussion about donations made by his teammates and the staff. They contributed 7,630,000 yen in total from SAMURAI BLUE team to Kumamoto.

Charity auction by SAMURAI BLUE players

All 25 players provided their own football kits with autographs for the charity auction. The Japan Football Association added three more football kits, each of which has autographs of the coach Vahid HALILHODZIC and the 25 players. In total there will be 28 items in the charity auction.

All the money collected through the above activities will be sent to Kumamoto as a Reconstruction Support donation, supporting affected people.

Details of the Kyushu and Kumamoto Reconstruction Support charity auction can be found here (Japanese version only)

The Japan Football Association will continue to support, through football, a rapid recovery for both the people and areas affected by this disaster.