The 12th All Japan Women’s futsal tournament gets underway on Friday 6 November, where the participating teams compete for the national title over three days. Ahead of the tournament, Japan Women’s Futsal National Team coach ARIHARA Masaaki shared the four aspects that fans should pay attention to in the tournament.

ARIHARA Masaaki, Coach (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)

The first point to look out for is Maruoka Ruck Ladies (Hokushinetsu/Fukui). They have gradually improved their results and gotten better as a team as they finished third in the 9th tournament and runners-up last year. Their players have played futsal since they were little girls. They even participated in the Vermont Cup 20th All Japan futsal tournament in 2011 with a girls-only squad.

Now they are in high school and have grown up big enough to contend for the championship in this tournament. This is one of the biggest topics of the tournament and I am personally looking forward to watching them play.

Bardral Urayasu Las Bonitas (Kanto 1/Chiba) are aiming for their first title of this tournament and they require close attention as well. Last few years they advanced deeply into the tournament but kept falling short. This year, with the defending champions Arco Iris Kobe already eliminated in the Hyogo prefectural qualifier, Bardral may finally be able to go as far as they have wanted to.

Most likely their motivation is very high and for a club like Bardral that have a team in different categories, their women’s team winning the title in this tournament should mean a lot for them.

The third point to see is SWH Ladies Futsal Club (Kansai 1/Hyogo) that defeated Arco Iris Kobe to reach this tournament. Simply put, they play “futsal that everyone likes” with their aggressive attacking based on their superb passing game and occasional dribbling for change of pace.

This year’s team have the extra mission that is to keep playing on behalf of Arco Iris Kobe. There should be some pressure on them as a title favourite, and it is worth seeing whether they can keep their poise and play as they normally play.

Lastly it is Veex Tokyo Ladies (Kanto 3/Tokyo). Their predecessor team of FUN Ladies once won five straight titles in this tournament history, and I think their desire to reproduce that success is strong. In 2013 the team were almost forced to dissolved, but they restarted their way up from Tokyo Women’s Entrance League, the equivalent of the third division, and the players stuck together with the team.

This is all thanks to the leadership and management by their coach MAJIKINA Oscar. It is a very difficult thing to do for a team to advance to the national tournament without belonging to a top-tier league in the region. It is interesting to see whether that team, after experiencing such ups and downs, compete for the championship again or get stopped by another team.

The 12th All Japan Women's futsal tournament

2015-11-6 (Fri.) - 8 (Sun.)
Hokkaido/Situgennokaze Arena Kushiro
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