The JFA 26th U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship is set to kick off on Tuesday 3 January 2023. Here we bring you the story of HAYASHI Honoka, a member of the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team), during her time at the Academy.

○This interview was conducted online on 13 December 2022

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Defending their title in their final tournament

HAYASHI Honoka was born and raised in Uji, Kyoto, and joined Cerezo Osaka Ladies U-15 (renamed Cerezo Osaka Ladies in 2012 and Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies in 2013) in 2011, just as she was entering junior high school. In her second year of high school, she participated in the 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament (now the JFA U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship) as a member of Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls, where the team claimed their first title in their first appearance in the tournament.

As they usually played in adult women's leagues such as the Challenge League (second division) and the Challenge League West (third division), they entered the competition with a strong mindset that they could not be beaten by teams of their age group. Although they stayed true to their word and won matches by a large margin in the early rounds, they had such a hard time in the semi-final against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth (now Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies) and the final against Nippon TV Menina (now Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina) that “it could have gone either way,” she said.

“Of course, I was very happy to win,” said Hayashi, but she also mentioned, “I personally felt the need to improve as an individual.” Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies had won the Challenge League West the previous year and finished second in the play-offs to gain promotion to the Nadeshiko League Division 2, which was where they played throughout the year. It was a fulfilling time for the team, as she mentioned, “We were able to take on stronger opponents, and I think the level of our game was elevated by the competition.”

She was also selected for the U-20 Japan Women's National Team that year and competed in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup™ held in Papua New Guinea in November, as she explained the experience with the national team, “It opened up a new world for me to experience how good players play, and I gained a lot from it.”

In January 2017, Hayashi entered the 20th edition of the All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament as captain of Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls. “It was our last tournament, and everyone was determined to repeat as champions,” recalled Hayashi, who described herself as having the tendency to get “quite nervous” and was therefore a bit anxious. Nevertheless, the positive vibe of her teammates, who were eager to enjoy the competition and take on the challenge of defending their title, eased her nerves, and she was able to take on the competition without being overwhelmed.

They won their first match 16-0 against Vicsale Okinawa FC Nabiita and 6-0 against Albirex Niigata Ladies U-18 in the second round, and Hayashi scored goals in both matches. In the semi-finals, they struggled a little against JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18, but won 2-1 to reach the final, where they faced Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth, whom they had beaten in the semi-finals the previous year.

The progress felt in her second final

Since the 16th edition in 2012, the U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship had been held at J-Green Sakai in Osaka, which is the home ground for Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls. Many Cerezo Osaka fans, supporters, current and former academy players came to the venue to cheer the final match from the stands.

“It was a great feeling to be at home with so many people there, and it gave me a lot of strength and made me want to win in front of everyone.” As Hayashi mentioned, Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls showcased a dominating performance against an opponent they had struggled to beat 2-1 the previous year. After taking the lead in the 23rd minute, TAKARADA Saori (Linkopings FC/Sweden) extended the lead in the 30th minute with a header from a corner kick delivered by Hayashi. With momentum on their side, the home side added two more goals in the second half to win the championship for the second year in a row with a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Throughout the tournament the team scored 28 goals in four matches, while conceding just one. Hayashi analysed that the team had grown a lot since the previous year, when they “could have lost in any given match,” because of the fact that they had fought their way through the season in the Nadeshiko League Division 2.

“We had played in the Nadeshiko League Division 2 for a year, but we didn't realise how much we had improved while we were playing in the league. Compared to our second year, we were able to take the initiative more in the third year, we were applying more pressure from our frontline, and we felt our game was more refined.”

The team had achieved the honour of winning back-to-back championships while realising their own growth and competing with confidence. Hayashi reflected on the moment when she received the trophy and raised it at the awards ceremony.

“It was a great moment when we all took a photo together with the trophy. The daily training was tough, but we had worked hard to win in these competitions. The fact that we have managed to achieve such success is a great memory that I can share with our teammates. It felt like all the days I spent with my mates were packed in there.”

Hayashi described her time with Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls as “my adolescence.” She spent long hours commuting to the training ground, enduring hard trainings, and competing against high-level opponents. During these days, she shared countless hours of casual and sometimes serious conversations with her teammates. The All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament, which could be said to be the culmination of those days, was also an unforgettable memory for her.

“There was a sense of tension and excitement that is unique to a knockout tournament, and not everything went well, but the fact that our hard work led to a tangible result of consecutive championships gave us confidence. It was a tournament where we were able to come together as one and show our team strength and teamwork in a short and intense competition, which helped us to grow as a team.”

JFA 26th U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Tue. 3 - Mon. 9 January 2023
Venue: J-GREEN Sakai (Osaka)

Tournament Information