On 12 November, the 4th All Japan Seniors (over 40) football tournament kicked off in Fujieda city, Shizuoka. A total of 16 teams that qualified from all over Japan gathered to decide the top of Japanese senior football team of players over the age of 40.

The 16 teams are divided into 4 groups of A to D to play the first-round league. The top team from each group will go through to the final round. The first round matches were played on the first day of the tournament.

In the Group A, exciting matches were shown from the first day. Yokohama Senior (Kanto 1/ Kanagawa) scored the opening goal in the 1st half but the opponent team Alfoot Azumino Senior (Kitashinetsu/ Nagano) managed to equalise through a counter-attack from their half in the 2nd half. However, Yokohama scored an additional goal and finished the match with a victory. In another match, Tottori KFC Tachikaze (Chugoku 2/ Tottori) never gave away their lead which they took in the 1st half, and beat Higo Senior FC (Kyushu 1/Kumamoto) 1-0.

There was a stalemate in the Group B; all 4 teams are in the same position with 1 point each. Tonan Superieure (Kansai 2/ Nara) and Ossandole Sapporo 40 (Hokkaido2) played intensively until the end and shared 1 point each. CLUB COMPASS NAGOYA (Tokai/ Aichi) and Tokushima Yoshino Club (Shikoku1/ Tokushima) scored 1 goal each in the 1st half but both of them could not score any additional goals. The match ended 1-1. The second day of this group is expected to be even more intense.

ANFINI VANKEI.FC40 (Hokkaido1) has taken lead the Group C. Their opponent Tsuruoka FC Dream (Tohoku/ Yamagata) could score the opening goal but they scored the equaliser before the end of the 1st half. Later in the 2nd half they made the most of their advantage of running fast and scored 3 more goals. Meanwile, Koyo Club (Kyushu2/ Saga) and Karioka (Kansai1/ Osaka) showed very passionate play. Both teams scored 1 goal each and the match ended 1-1.

In the Group D, T・Deams (Kanto 1/ Tokyo) beat GALAXY (Chugoku1/ Yamaguchi) 2-0 by scoring 1 goal in each half. To grab the chance to qualify for the final round which they could not make 2 years ago due to lack of goals, T・Deams managed to kick off this year’s competition with a positive result. FC Kagawa (Shikoku2/ Kagawa) and Fujieda Football Club (Hosting prefecture/ Shizuoka) drew the match 0-0 and both teams got 1 point each.

On 13 November, they will have the 2nd day of the tournament and all teams will play the other two matches of the first-round to decide the top teams to qualify for the final round.

Coach's and Players' Comments

CHIBA Koji (Ossandole Sapporo 40/ Hokkaido)
Since the match venue was far from where we live so we came here one day before to get ready our condition but we could not move well in the match, we might have been a bit nervous on the first day. It was good that we did not lose the match at least. In Hokkaido it will be difficult for us to practice outside from the end of October so in winter season we play in a futsal league instead. Shizuoka is warmer and I just feel a bit jealous that players here can play outside throughout the year! Anyway, I appreciate that we can enjoy football until this age and I want to keep playing football.

FUJIWARA Keiji (Tonan Superieure / Nara)
We wanted to move the ball around more but as a whole we could not move as we wanted, this might be due to nervousness. We all cannot have training on weekdays since each of us has to work, hence we continue football by playing matches on weekends; actually these matches are the opportunities for us to “adjust” our play. We originally started the team with local players in Nara and some others who have recently come back follow the team’s activities. All of us are very excited to play seriously even in this age group. Today, I was too passionate to calm down on the pitch. I appreciate that I can still get such a good experience even at this age.

AKINO Yutaka (Tsuruoka FC Dream/ Yamagata)
We have continued to win to come to this national tournament after achieving the victory for the first time in 3 years of trying in the regional qualifier in Tohoku. Usually we play in different teams but this year many of them are from the same single team. Master’s league was launched in our local league created the atmosphere that players over 35 years old begin football again. Senior players have been stronger and part of the reason is that payers from that age continue to play football to our age group. Our ex-teammates until last year moved to the team of age 50s and their team also qualified for the national-level tournament. I want to share the good news with them. I will switch my mind to the remaining 2 matches. We will get united well to do our best together.

MAKI Yoshiaki, Coach and Player (ANFINI VANKEI.FC40/ Hokkaido)
In Hokkaido, we can register ourselves into two categories and there are players who don’t play in the senior league but in the local younger league where they have to play for 90 minutes. We run more than the other senior teams thanks to these players from the younger league. In our team, we don’t have any former J. League players and most of us don’t have any experience in playing at a national level. These players do their best by playing for their own teams and trying futsal. One of our players used to play baseball until university and started football finally in their 20s. Consadole Sapporo is close to going up to J. League Division 1. We also want to try our best to win the title in this opportunity.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

The 4th All Japan Seniors (over 40) Football Tournament

2016-11-12(Sat.)-14(Mon.)
Match Venue： Fujieda Sports Complex Park Athletic Field(Natural Turf), Sports Complex Park Athletic Field (Artificial Turf), Fujieda Sports Complex Park Soccer Stadium (Natural Turf), Fujieda City Soccer Ground (Natural Turf)
Tournament Information