The first ‘JFA Reconstruction Support Football Festival’, which is a new project started this year, was held on Monday 15 September at the Soma Koyo Soccer Ground in the Fukushima Football Centre.
The players and coaches as well as the parents and guardians of the local primary school teams, the secondary football club teams and the adult teams participated in the festival. As special guests, there were players and staff from Fukushima United Football Club in J.League Division3. There were also ISHIKAWA Naohiro, SHIOTA Hitoshi and TAKAHASHI Hideto from FC Tokyo in the J.League, and TANAKA Yoko from INAC Kobe in plenus Nadeshiko League through collaboration with Japan Pro-Footballers Association. Teguramori Hiroshi, National Training Centre Coach in charge of JFA Reconstruction Support Project also attended the festival.

The festival started with a ceremony for celebrating the completion of the Reconstruction Exchange Support Centre, which has clubhouse facilities for a football centre.
In the morning, the players and the staff of Fukushima United Football Club held a football lesson for local U-12 players on the artificial turf pitch. Three players of FC Tokyo, TANAKA Yoko and Teguramori Hiroshi, the coaches in charge of JFA Reconstruction Support Project, joined them. On the natural grass pitch, mixed teams with the secondary school and adult players enjoyed practice matches.

In the afternoon, the primary school teams played interactive games on the artificial turf pitch. There was a practice match between Fukushima United Football Club and the Soma training centre squad, a football lesson for secondary school teams by Teguramori Hiroshi and three players of FC Tokyo, and a kids’ football interactive event with TANAKA Yoko on the artificial turf pitch.
JFA staff prepared a barbecue off the pitch. The locals served some pork miso soup, Japanese curry, pan-fried noodles, and shaved ice with syrup for the participants.

This festival, which will be held in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures this year, is a part of the JFA Reconstruction Support Project for The Great East Japan Earthquake. The next one will be on Monday 13 October at the Kamaishi Football Centre in Iwate, followed by Saturday 25 October at the MFA Matsushima Football Centre in Miyagi.

Festival host representative’s comment

AOTA Hidemitsu, Chairman of NPO Dream Soccer Soma
More teams have visited this football centre, as a result of the maintenance and refurbishments carried out last year. Now we have a brand new Reconstruction Exchange Support Centre, which can be used during the winter season as well. I hope we will have more people, interacting here, and that we can provide information on disaster-affected areas to the world.
Since the earthquake, many people have come here. However, it was such an inspiring opportunity today for children to play with professional footballers. I also think it was a good experience for them to see up close, someone to whom they might want to look up.
I’d like to organise this kind of event again on a regular basis with JFA, in order to support children and energise the local area.

Festival guest’s comment

ISHIKAWA Naohiro（J League FC Tokyo）
It was my first time to come to Soma Koyo Soccer Ground, and I thought it was a wonderful environment with the natural grass pitch for children to play football. I felt a bit jealous, as I didn’t have the opportunity to kick a ball about on a grass pitch when I was a kid.
Although I couldn’t play as I wanted to due to my injury, I also learned something new through communicating with children. I’d be happy if those children learned something today and would pass it to their teammates, friends and coaches.
I have had some experience supporting disaster-affected areas with the Japan Pro-Footballers Association, but the scale of this event is thanks to JFA. I think it’s very important that professional players and the JFA continue to collaborate and provide support, so that more children in more areas can stay in touch with the football family.
This event was only the start. We must continue with the second and the third ones.
The great part of football is that people can connect and become united through it - the players, supporters, people who maintain the pitches and facilities. We can derive an unknown strength from this unity. I’d like to continue these activities to make everyone happier.

TANAKA Yoko (INAC Kobe)
I came to this event as I received the call from Ogura Sakiko, former L-league player I know her since I was in JFA Academy Fukushima. I am really happy to be here for supporting this event as people in Fukushima had been kind to me.

Kids are much active than I expected and I felt like they gave me energy and let me have a good time. This event with kids reminded me of how fun to play football. I wish all the best to the kids I met today and I hope some of them would make it to   J-League player, Japan International and Nadeshiko Japan in the future.

JFA-TV