The last and biggest Reconstruction Support event of 2014, ‘JPFA Charity Soccer 2014’ was held on the 13 and 14 December. On 13 December, the ‘Greeting Day’ was held at Iwaizumi-cho in Iwate, at Iwaki-shi in Fukushima, and at both Ishinomaki-shi and Sendai-shi in Miyagi. On 14 December, ‘JPFA Charity Soccer 2014’ was held at the Yurtec Stadium Sendai. 16 players, including NISHIKAWA Shusaku (Urawa), SUZUKI Daisuke (Kashiwa) joined at the Ishinomaki site to host the football lesson. On the way, I paid a visit to the players in disaster-affected areas by bus, listening to HONGO Eiichi, the Chairman of Ishinomaki Football Association, about the disaster. Some of the players, who were going to disaster-affected areas for the first time, were hit with the shock of the remaining destruction from the disaster three years and nine months ago. One player commented: ‘people won’t know until they actually come here.’

On the day of the charity match, all the players and the staff watched a video of the Great East Japan Earthquake’s Tsunami, which made each of them think. Then, fully motivated, they left for the pitch, wishing for the success of the charity, so that people in disaster-affected areas can enjoy football.

‘The Charity Soccer’ is a match between Tohoku Dreams, which consists of the players from Tohoku, and Japan Stars, which includes the current Japan National Team players, as has happened in the past. This time I had the privilege of being the head coach of Tohoku Dreams. We won the game 12-8. We had a wonderful time with the crowd and I hope people in disaster-affected areas enjoyed themselves. I’d like to continue this event in the future.

Three days before the charity soccer, on 10 December, I paid a visit to Iwaki Training Centre. It used to be held at Chuo-Daikita Junior High School until October, but it moved to the ground at Shohei Junior and Senior High School in November. The Shohei ground had artificial turf with full lighting facilities. The children’s motivation was really high, and they can enjoy playing football fully, thanks to the improved environment.

NUNO Keiichiro, the current head coach of FAGIANO OKAYAMA FC and the schoolmaster of JFA Academy Fukushima, coached the U-12 level. He focused on ‘possession’, which he has been working on. I coached the U-11 level and focused on ‘the purposeful first touch’. We had a long practice game, as it was supposed to be the last one of the year. In the end the coach NUNO commented: ‘all of you did very well this year. The last match of the U-11s was the best one of the year. I expect you to improve even more, as the practicing environment is getting better. Thank you.’

I visited the coastal area of Iwate from 25 to 28 December to see the activities there. On the first day, I was supposed to join a practice session at Otsuchi FC, which was cancelled due to the poor condition of the ground after bad weather. A sudden cancellation could not be avoided, as it was not their own ground and the number of gymnasiums is limited and tend to be used by other sport groups.

On the second day, I viewed a training session of Sun Altus at the Ofunato gymnasium. In the morning of the following day, on 27 December, I watched a friendly futsal match against Takada. Then in the afternoon, I moved to the gymnasium at Kitasato University to see Ofunato-Snariku Seagull’s last practice of the year. The civic gymnasium in Ofunato was used first as a morgue just after the disaster and for aid storage. Work on changing the flooring started last April and was finally ready to be used again. Sports Shonendan (Class 4) can use this gymnasium for free.

Then on 28 December, I joined Sun Altus’s last practice session of the year. We had a practice match between guardians and children. IKEDA Jun, the head coach of Sun Altus commented: ‘the refurbishment of the civic gymnasium in Ofunato is beneficial for us as well as for the citizens and I’m very pleased. We’re not sure about the availability and how often we can use it. However, it is a big improvement in our practice environment, as now we can use one more facility, which hasn’t been in use since the disaster. Since the qualifying round of the Vermont will start in the New Year, it’s good to have more locations to practice in.