Japan Football Association (JFA) held a press conference ahead of the coming ”U-16 International Dream Cup 2017 JAPAN presented by The Asahi Shimbun” at hosting city Sendai.

This U-16 international tournament will be held for the third time, and four countries, namely Kenya, Netherlands, United States and Japan, will all compete for the title. U-16 Japan National Team Coach MORIYAMA Yoshiro stated his aspiration on video messaging, “Highly competitive national teams of this generation are invited in this tournament. Playing against one of the top flights in the world, I will do my best to inspire my players to take on the world.“

Cultural exchange programs are also being scheduled during the tournament, and these off-the-pitch activities are expected to bring a unique learning experience for the youth players along with the actual competition on the pitch as well.

The following tournament will commence on Wednesday 14 June and end on Sunday 18. All the matches will be held at Yurtec Stadium Sendai and will be free of charge for all spectators.

Comments

TASHIMA Kohzo, President of the Japan Football Association
Since 2003, the city of Sendai hosted “Sendai Cup International Youth Football Tournament”, but the following competition has been cancelled after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. JFA has been heart-broken about this cancellation, but are pleased that this tournament will be held in Sendai this year. I am here to express my sincere gratitude for all the staff members who worked hard to make this event come true. I hope this will be a wonderful event for all, but especially for the people living in Sendai and Miyagi Prefecture. I expect not only a thrilling competition on the pitch, but also an amicable exchange for all the youth players and foster friendship by participating in various off-the-pitch activities and learn about the wonderful cultures of Sendai.

OKUBO Yoshio, Chariman of Miyagi Football Association
The “Sendai Cup International Youth Football Tournament” has been an important tournament for the development of football in Miyagi Prefecture and the Tohoku region as a whole. Some notable past participants are KAGAWA Shinji (Borussia Dortmund), ENDO Yasushi (Kashima Antlers), HONDA Keisuke (AC Milan) and UCHIDA Atsuto (Schalke 04), and some of these players have become central players for the national team as well. After being cancelled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, six years have already passed. Along with the reconstruction efforts in the region, I am pleased to host this U-16 International Cup in Sendai this coming June. Last year, the following tournament was held in Tottori Prefecture, where I visited the site and observed wonderful matches and world-class standard of current football. I hope the people from Sendai and Miyagi Prefecture as well as the people from the neighboring prefectures come and visit this tournament.

OKUYAMA Emiko, Mayor of Sendai City
The people of Sendai City have been encouraged by various sporting events and local professional sports teams, including Vegalta Sendai of J. League and Rakuten Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). We had to endure some hard time after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and living under such conditions we were searching for a special event at the home stadium of Vegalta Sendai, Yurtec Stadium Sendai, to commemorate the 20th year since inauguration and send a message from Sendai to Tohoku region and then to the entire country that we have come a long way from the earthquake six years ago. Upon receiving the offer to hold an U-16 international football tournament in Sendai, we decided to host this event in hopes that the participating youth will also work themselves towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the children affected by the disaster will be encouraged by seeing some of the players from this year’s competition participate in the Olympics. For all the people who have been afflicted by the disaster, I wish you all come to this event taking each other’s hand and encourage one another. For all the participating players, I aspire that they will take their time to visit the distressed coastal areas, capitalise on this opportunity to learn about the Japanese culture and make this a wonderful international exchange for their respective futures.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)