The NPO Sports Community Iwata Polarstar hosted the "JFA Nadeshiko Hiroba" on Sunday 18 October in Iwata, Shizuoka.

As there was another local event on that day, some of the children, who regularly participate, could not attend. The 12 participating girls enjoyed themselves thoroughly playing football.

The first and the second grade pupils took part for the first time, but fitted in smoothly and enjoyed chasing the ball, without any help from their guardians.

To break the ice at the beginning, the children played "chain tag", where a tagger caught another child one after another, while communicating well with them. To learn ball control, they practiced not only with their feet, but also with their hands, catching the ball. During the ball game, children performed some interesting plays, using height difference. They enjoyed themselves wholeheartedly and were smiling, while maintaining an air of seriousness.

At the end of the session, they played a futsal game, which drew and went onto penalties. They had a really exciting time.

Host’s Comment

NAGATA Atsushi Commissioner, Schoolmaster
I started hosting Nadeshiko Hiroba because of my daughter. She hadn’t been interested in football before, but suddenly mentioned she wanted to try. As girls at my sports club showed some interest as well, I started one. I hosted the very first one with 10 girls participating, thanks to the support of the other staff.

Since then, we host this event monthly. With some support from the local team, Shizuoka Sangyo University Bonita, we regularly have 15 to 20 participants. Many of them belong to local football clubs, usually playing with boys. We can see some difference in their play while they’re playing just with other girls.

I’d like to gradually increase the number of these events, creating more opportunities for U-15 to improve the environment for women’s football. It’s not easy to assemble a team, but it maybe time for a local sports club to step forward.

Participant’s Comments

AOSHIMA Mizuki
It was the first time I had taken part. Although I couldn't play much with the ball, I did enjoy myself a lot. I’d like to come back to collect the stamps.

AOSHIMA Mizuki’s Mother
I was nervous, as my daughter wasn’t brilliant at sports and she's scared of balls. However, she did enjoy herself. I was impressed that she didn’t cry when the ball hit her in the face, thanks to the elder girls, who took care of her. Now she’s into it, and asked me to buy a pair of football socks, saying "the artificial turf on my socks wouldn’t come off!"

JFA Nadeshiko Hiroba

It is an occasion that any females, from the children to the girls, to the mothers and grandmothers, are able to casually enjoy the game of football. It is run by organizations and facilities that are approved by the JFA.

JFA Nadeshiko Hiroba (Japanese version only)