In collaboration with the United Nations’ “International Women's Day,” JFA has established 8 March as "Women's Football Day."

“International Women's Day” was established by the United Nation in 1975, which was followed by the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) establishment of the “AFC Women's Football Day.” Ever since, we have been receiving requests from the AFC to “help setup tournaments around that date to promote women’s football in Asia.”

With the support of prefectural FAs, JFA has held a symposium at Osaka in 2016 with the theme, “Constructing a society through sports where women can shine.” Other events such as D-Licence Coaching Courses for female coaches were also held to promote the cause. However, despite our efforts to conduct these nationwide events, we weren’t successful at leaving an impact or conveying our passion towards the general public.

A symposium was held in Osaka with the theme “Constructing a society through sports where women can shine.”

In efforts to create a nationwide movement to promote and develop women’s football in Japan, JFA has declared 8 March as “JFA Women's Football Day.”

As part of the event, banners and flags with the “JFA Women's Football Day” logo has been on display along Football Ave of JFA House since mid-February, and prefectural FAs are currently planning various events for next year’s “JFA Women's Football Day.” We cannot singlehandedly raise the status of women’s football by ourselves, but with the support of prefectural FAs, federations, and leagues, we can trigger a movement that can allow more people to think about women’s football, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

The slogan of this year’s “JFA Women's Football Day” is, "Let's become the fairest country in the world." In the world of football, Japan is well known for its fairness and we have earned many Fair-Play Awards at various tournaments. The slogan was inspired by our self-awareness of us being a fair country.

Football has predominantly been a men’s sport, but the strong willingness of women to play football has led to the current development of women’s football. Providing opportunities for women to fulfil their potential in the field of football is currently a hot topic at FIFA. Japan has fallen behind in terms of advancement of women in the football world, and that is an issue we must address moving forward. The word “Fair” contains our hopes to realise a society where everyone is given the opportunity to thrive.

Of course, making changes to the environment is not enough, as women must make more efforts to take a step forward. Among the developed countries, Japan has been slow to adapt female empowerment, but the bigger issue is that Japanese women are not aware of that fact. That is why we must first recognise the current situation and break out of our own shells to truly realise our goal.

Led by the Nadeshiko Japan, Japan is respected internationally in the world of women’s football. That is why we must take the initiative and make contributions to support the development of women’s football.

Through our efforts to promote women’s football, we will strive to become a fair country, where everyone is given the opportunity to contribute and thrive.

▼For more information on the projects and events, please visit the "JFA Women's Football Day" website.