Showing the Nadeshiko Colour on and off the pitch

The U-20 Japan Women's National Team finished as runners-up at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™. Despite losing 1-3 to Spain at the final, in which the team was aiming to defend their title and "make up for the previous tournament, which was cancelled due to the pandemic," it was a tournament that showcased Nadeshiko's colour to the fullest extent. Through all six matches of the tournament, I think the team was able to gain valuable experience for the future. Thank you very much for your support.

From the very start of the tournament, the smiling faces and respectful attitude of the Japanese players drew attention of the fans. As the tournament progressed, their performance on the pitch, attitude towards the tournament, and respect for others made them a team that was loved and supported by everyone including those involved with the tournament, the local people, and even the opposing teams they played against.

As well as finishing second, the team also won the Fair Play Award once again. This was not something they had practised as part of their national team commitments, but something that came naturally to the players because they had practised it every day with the team they had been a part of since they began to play football. We would like to thank all our football families across the country and share the joy of this runners-up finish as well as the Fair Play Award.

This year's JFA Respect Fair Play Days will be held throughout the month of September

JFA places great value on respect and is resolutely opposed to discrimination and violence in football and other sports and is working on various initiatives to create a world without discrimination and violence. With the cooperation of various leagues and federations, JFA has established the “JFA Respect Fair Play Days” since 2014 to spread the message widely across the country.

As in previous years, the JFA Respect Fair Play Days will be held in 2022. Continuing on from last year, many events and competitions have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic. Therefore, in order to provide more opportunities to consider and implement the notion of respect and fair play, we have decided to extend the duration of the event, which in previous years was held over 10 days, to a full month. We would like to carry out the following activities so that the spirit of respect and fair play can be widely considered, practised, and communicated throughout our country.

We would like to ask you to take all possible measures, such as pre-match declarations by captains, in-field announcements, banner displays, etc., to spread the spirit of respect and fair play to as many people as possible at matches and events, while also carefully following the guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We hope to make this a time of the year when everyone reflects on respect and fair play.

We have listed examples of activities that can be carried out on match days, but we would like to encourage clubs and teams to think and implement activities of their own. Please listen to the voices and ideas of the players and share with us about the events you have carried out.

【Reporter】IMAI Junko (Chair of JFA Respect/Fair play Committee)

*This article was originally posted on Japan Football Association “Technical News,” September 2022 edition.