Yokohama youth to visit China
Mr. Kazuo Asukada, Mayor of Yokohama, the largest port in Japan, has announced plans for a youth selection team from that city to visit Shanghai, China's biggest port, in the near future. The Mayor has already sounded out the Chinese authorities, and received their agreement to accept the Yokohama youth tour.?
All Stars game of J. S. L.
Kunishige Kamamoto of Yanmar F.C. achieved a hat-trick in helping the Western Selection team win the first match of the 1971 All Stars games by a score of 4-2. The All Stars games of the Japanese Football League have been held twice annually every summer. The eight league clubs are divided into two regions, with the players on each side being selected by the votes of football writers. The first match of this season was held in Hiroshima on the 14th of July and the second match is to be held on the 30thof August in Tokyo.
Mitsubishi players in Germany
Three young players from Mitsubishi F.C. of Tokyo, together with manager Hiroshi Ninomiya, spent two months in Germany this summer. They stayed in the camp of Borussia Monchengladbach to learn modern football skills and training methods from the West German league champions. |
Preparation for the Seoul tournament
Although people in Europe and South America would probably disagree that the Olympic football tournament is more important than the World Cup, this is in fact the case as far as Japanese sports circles are concerned.
In the past half-century, Japanese sports have grown chiefly through participation in the Olympic Games, and the word "Olympics" is now a synonym for "Sports" among Japanese people, "with football being no exception.
The Japanese Olympic Committee is planning to send athletes for all sports to the Munich Olympics next year, but the football team will first have to clear the hurdle of the preliminary tournament. If they fail to do so, and football becomes the only sport not represented in the Japanese contingent at Munich, the game's prestige in sports circles will be severely damaged. This is the reason why the Japanese Football Association is very anxious to strength the National team for the Olympic preliminary tournament which will be held in Seoul from the end of September.
In preparation for the Seoul tournament, the Japanese Association has sent two Nation-al teams abroad this summer. One team, made up of top stars and some newly-promoted young players, has gone to Europe, where it is hoped the team-play will be improved through friendly matches against West German and English professional clubs. The other team, which is composed of players of medium standing, is going to participate in the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia, where it is expected to gain experience in playing against Asian teams, especially the Koreans.
A local source has reported that the Malaysian authorities complained about Japan participating with its second team, but an official of the Japanese Association explained that the National team was divided into two groups, and there were no rankings between them.
In any case, the most important event this year for Japanese football is the Seoul tournament, and the best team to represent Japan will be formed after the European and Malaysian tours have been completed. |
