On Saturday 2 November, the JFA 16th Japan Women's Futsal Championship kicked-off its action at Ishikawa Sports Center, Ishikawa, where a total of 16 group stage matches were played. In a competition where only the group leaders can advance through to the final round, all four groups saw two teams winning two matches on this day, leaving an enticing matchday for Sunday 3.

Group A saw three teams making their tournament debut, as Hachinohe Gakuin University (Tohoku1/Aomori) was the only team with past appearances at this tournament. Although Tapa Zida (Kanto2/Tokyo) was considered to be the group favourite, they lost their first match against Progresso Osaka Verve (Kansai3/Osaka) 0-2. The Kanto side also lost their second match against Hachinohe Gakuin 1-2, only to see their door getting closed to advance through to the final round. The two teams defeating Tapa Zida also won their matches against FC.Ton Ladies (Ishikawa), setting up a match on Sunday to determine the group leaders.

The two Women's F. League teams in Group B ended with very contrasting results, as Bardral Urayasu Las Bonitas (Kanto1/Chiba) showcased a solid performance to earn back to back victories, while Espolada Hokkaido Irneve (Hokkaido) lost their first match against Member of the Gang (Tokai1/Mie) 1-3, followed by an 0-2 shutout loss against Urawa to find themselves eliminated from the tournament. Member of the Gang also secured their second win, when they defeated Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku2/Miyagi) 2-0.

The defending champions, arco-iris Kobe (Kansai1/Hyogo) showcased their dominance on this day to register two wins in Group C. MFP Salsa Hada (Chugoku/Hiroshima) was the other team winning two matches, as they came from behind to win over Bepp (Tokai2/Aichi) in their first match, followed by a 3-1 victory over Colac,o Fukuoka (Kyushu1/Fukuoka), as they will challenge the two-time Women's F. League champions, arco-iris, on Sunday.

Seeking for their second title in three years, Fukui Maruoka Ruck (Hokushinetsu/Fukui) was grouped with another former champion, SWH Ladies Futsal Club (Kansai2/Hyogo) in Group D. The two teams both registered two wins on this day to setup an enticing matchup on Sunday. While SWH Ladies scored 16 goals with zero conceded, Fukui Maruoka scored 20 goals with two conceded, giving Fukui the slight edge in goal difference, in case their match ended in draw.

The third fixture of the group stage will take place on Sunday 3, where four matches will feature a direct matchup between the two undefeated teams from each group. The results of these four matches will determine the teams advancing to the final round.

Coach and Players’ Comments

KAMIKUBO Yoshitaka, Coach (SWH Ladies Futsal Club)
We focused on winning each of our matches today. We are in a must win situation to advance through, so we will give our best efforts to win our third match. We have added many new players to our team this season, and our team is showing great cohesion, but that also gives me a lot of pressure. Our team will newly join the National League next season, so we hope to build a positive momentum towards the new season by winning this title. For now, we will focus on our match against Maruoka. It is expected that we will be in the defensive end for majority of the match, but we will do our best within the 12 minutes to showcase a dominating performance.

HIRAI Yuka (arco-iris Kobe)
We have lost many of our members since last year, and we are no longer getting considered as the tournament favourites, but that just gives us more motivation to win this tournament. We don’t need excessive goals, as long as we beat our opponent one match at a time. I am relieved that we were able to finish our first day with two wins and our eyes are set on winning the title.

SATO Mayo (Member of the Gang)
Although we looked nervous in our first match, we managed to showcase what we have been working on in our league matches and the Tokai qualifiers. I feel like we were able to believe in ourselves and play our usual game. We conceded just one goal in two matches, and it really shows that we have trained with the emphasis on our defence. We have played Urayasu in the past and they are a very good team. We will have a chance to win the match, as long as we can keep a clean sheet, so we hope to showcase our best performance to keep up with our opponents.

FUKUSHI Yurika (Hachinohe Gakuin University)
Teams representing the Tohoku region have struggled in this tournament, so we are glad that we were able to win two matches today. We are normally a football team, so we had only three days to prepare for this tournament. Although we have very limited experience in futsal, we fought with our hearts. We knew we were the underdogs against Tapa Zida, so we focused on playing with a strong fighting spirit. We will be playing a very important match tomorrow, and I am excited for the challenge.

JFA 16th Japan Women's Futsal Championship

Tournament Dates: Sat. 2 - Mon. 4 November 2019
Tournament Venue: Ishikawa Sports Center, Ishikawa
Tournament Information