The JFA Mid-Term Plan for 2023-2026Japan Football Hall of Fame
JFA Hall of Fame Inductee
IMANISHI Kazuo
Special Selection: 22nd Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2026
- Born in Hiroshima Prefecture on 12 January 1941
IMANISHI Kazuo began playing football at Hiroshima Municipal Funairi High School. After graduating from the University of Tsukuba (formerly the Tokyo University of Education), he joined Toyo Kogyo (now Mazda). Playing as a defender for the Toyo Kogyo football team, he helped them win four consecutive Japan Football League titles, and he was also selected for the Japanese national team.
After retiring from playing, he initially devoted himself to his business interests. However, in 1982, he returned to football as a manager with the aim of upholding the ‘Hiroshima, the home of football’ tradition and rebuilding the struggling Mazda Football Club. He subsequently played a significant part in the club's entry into the J.League and the establishment of Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
As a pioneering figure in the role of general manager (head coach) in Japanese football, he established the principles of professional club and team management. He also set an example for other clubs by setting up an academy and developing the ‘Hiroshima Model’, which focuses the club’s squad on players who have been developed through the academy. Furthermore, he demonstrated exceptional talent in scouting and developing players, and in coaching development.
He contributed to the development of Hiroshima and Japanese football as a whole by recruiting outstanding foreign managers such as Hans OOFT (Netherlands), who would later become manager of the Japan national team, and Stuart BAXTER (England), who led the club to victory in the 1994 J.League First Stage. He is also renowned for producing many individuals who have gone on to excel as coaches, including current Japan national team manager MORIYASU Hajime, as well as KAZAMA Yahiro, KOBAYASHI Shinji, MATSUDA Hiroshi, TAKAGI Takuya, and MORIYAMA Yoshiro.
In 1997, he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the JFA's Development Committee (now the Technical Committee). He supported the Japan national team during their first appearance at the FIFA World Cup in France in 1998, and at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which Japan co-hosted with South Korea.
