NEWS
Uniqlo Soccer Kids held at elementary school in quake-hit area for first time - Kesennuma, Miyagi
19 November 2014
JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids is a series of fun football events where any children aged six and under can enjoy football. A total of 173 kids consisting of 84 individual participants and 89 players from nine different teams were welcomed to enjoy the day on Sunday 16 November at Kesennuma City Elementary School in Kesennuma, Miyagi. The kids came to join the event along with their parents not only from the host city Kesennuma but also from Sendai and Iwate’s Ofunato and Ichinoseki.
The special guest, former Japan international, Kojima Nobuyuki and the JFA reconstruction support coach Teguramori Hiroshi joined games with participating kids. Kesennuma’s mascot character Hoya Boya were posing for photos with kids and cheering for kids on the pitch.
In Kesennuma, there are a lot of elementary schools and junior high schools devastated by tsunami at the Great East Japan Earthquake and still plenty of people who live in temporary housing built on school fields. Despite the limited space for football fields, the Miyagi Football Association played the central role in planning this event at the school field on one of Kesennuma’s hills. The project became feasible thanks to the generous support from Kesennuma City.
The Uniqlo Soccer Kids will continue its festival throughout the nation as it is currently scheduled at 14 venues such as major domes and football stadiums.
Event Overview
Name of event | JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids in Kesennuma, Miyagi |
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Date | Sun. 16 November 2014 |
Schedule | Gate open 10:00 Opening Ceremony 10:30, Game 11:00-12:30, Closing Ceremony 12:35 |
Venue | Kesennuma City Kesennuma Elementary School (3-1 Sasagajin Kesennuma City Miyagi) |
Game format | 8-a-side mini soccer festival Size of pitch: 30m×15m (Total of 6 pitches) Number of games per team: about 3 games Playing time: 1st half 5 min, 2nd half 5min |
Target participants | Preschool age children 6 years old or younger |
Host organizations | Japan Football Association and Miyagi Football Association |
Special sponsor | Uniqlo Co., Ltd. |
Associate sponsors | Miyagi Board of Education / Kesennuma City Board of Education / KAHOKU SHIMPO PUBLISHING CO./ HIGASHI NIPPON BROADCASTING Co,Ltd./ TOHOKU BROADCASTING CO LTD / Sanriku Shimpo / Sendai Television Incorporated / Miyagi Television |
Special guest | Mr. KOJIMA Nobuyuki(former Japan International)/ TEGURAMORI Hiroshi, National Training Centre Coach in charge of JFA Reconstruction Support Project |
Guest | SUGAWARA Hidetoshi, General Secretary Miyagi Football Association /Mr. OE Masahiro/Deputy Mayor of Kesennuma City / Mr. YOKOHAMA Jun, Group Executive Vice President at FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. / AKAIZAWA Kyohei, Store Manager of Uniqlo Kesennuma Branch |
Support staff | Total of 49 staffers including staff of Kids Committee of Miyagi Football Association / Kesennuma High School / Toryo High School / Kesennuma Sharks FC |
Mascot support | Hoyaboya (PR Character for Kesennuma City Tourism) |
Application period | Mon. 26 September to Fri. 31 October, 17:00 *extended to Thu. 6 November |
Application by | Uniqlo soccer kids application form available on JFA Official website |
Soccer families
Teams | Men | Women | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
U-6 age group (team participation) | 9 | 70 | 19 | 89 |
U-6 group (individual participation) | 75 | 9 | 84 | |
Total | 145 | 28 | 173 | |
Spectators | 450 | |||
Staff | 49 | |||
Soccer families total | 672 |
Message from Organiser
SUGAWARA Hidetoshi, General Secretary of Miyagi Football Association
You all did a fine job today. Did you enjoy the Soccer Kids today? Did fathers and mothers also enjoy? Your kids were energetic until the end thanks to your support. There was a kid who cried because he didn’t touch the ball. Would everyone here like to play football when you enter elementary school? I hope you keep playing football in your elementary school as well. Get the ball and run with energy. I’d like thank fathers and mothers for coming along. I hope you will continue to watch over and support your kids so that your kids enjoy playing outside.
Message from Guest
Mr. AKAIZAWA Kyohei, Uniqlo Kesennuma Store Manager, Uniqlo Co., Ltd.
Did you enjoy your time today? What did you enjoy most? You had fun playing football, right? I hope you all keep up playing football together with the shirt on today. Thank you for taking part in this event today.
Message from Special Guest
TEGURAMORI Hiroshi, JFA Reconstruction Support Coach
You all did a good job today. When I was watching you playing a game, I got the itch to play football together and then joined you. It was really fun. I first thought many goals wouldn’t be scored on the packed pitch with many players, but I saw a lot of goals. That reminded me nothing is impossible. I assume you still have difficulty in your life in Kesennuma, but hopefully you believe things will get better and keep it up toward the reconstruction. I hope future J.Leaguers and Nadeshiko Leaguers will come from here. Well done everyone today and take care.
Comment from Participant
ITO Sawaki, Son of SHISHIORI FC’s ITO Junichi (age: 6)
I enjoyed so much today at the football event. I worked hard on chasing the ball and I’m happy to get lots of balls into the net. I want to be a football player when I grow up.
Event Schedule
Sun. 26 January 2014 | Osaka | Kyocera Dome Osaka |
---|---|---|
Sun. 8 June 2014 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome |
Mon. 21 July 2014 | Aichi | Nagoya Dome |
Mon. 15 September 2014 | Tokyo | Tokyo Dome |
Sun. 5 October 2014 | Iwate | Iwate Sports Park Athletic Field |
Mon. 13 October 2014 | Toyama | Toyama Athletic Recreation Park |
Sun. 19 October 2014 | Ibaraki | Kashima Soccer Stadium |
Mon. 3 November 2014 | Hokkaido | Sapporo Dome |
Sun. 16 November 2014 | Miyagi | Kesennuma Elementary School |
Mon. 24 November 2014 | Saitama | Seibu Dome |
Sat. 29 November 2014 | Kumamoto | Kumamoto Sports Park Auxiliary field |
Sun. 7 December2014 *changed on 10/6 | Okayama | kanko Stadium |
Sun. 21 December 2014 | Yamaguchi | Yamaguchi Kirara Memorial Park |
Sun. 25 January 2015 | Osaka | Kyocera Dome Osaka |
Besides these events, the event in Kanagawa is planned after January 2015. The information will be available on JFA official site once the detail is fixed.
Related News
- Grassroots 2014/11/06 1,300 kids participate in JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids in Sapporo
- Grassroots 2014/10/22 1,791 kids enjoyed football in JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids at the Kashima Soccer Stadium, Ibaraki
- Grassroots 2014/10/16 457 kids participate in JFA Uniqlo Soccer Kids in Toyama Athletic Recreation Park
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