FW 28 Teil 1-2012.indd - VCAB

Japan relishing
U-20 challenge
Just a few weeks have passed since Japan were
confi rmed as hosts of this year’s FIFA U-20
Women’s World Cup, but local organisers are
already confi dent of delivering a memorable
tournament.
When natural disasters strike, it can take
years for the affected region to get back
on its feet, with large chunks of energy
and fi nances needing to be channelled into
rebuilding efforts. It is therefore testimony
to the resilience of the Japanese that,
less than a year after their country was
devastated by a huge earthquake, they
were the ones stepping in to deliver speedy
assistance – agreeing to host this year’s
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup following
December’s decision by the FIFA Executive
Committee that Uzbekistan would not be
ready to stage the event.
“It goes without saying that preparing
to host a tournament like this at short
notice poses certain challenges, but
we’re well aware of what it takes to host
a tournament of this nature successfully,
20 FIFA WORLD I APRIL 2012
having jointly hosted the 2002 FIFA World
Cup and also regularly hosted the FIFA
Club World Cup in recent years,” Local
Organising Committee director Hiroshi
Nogami told FIFA World during a February
visit to FIFA’s Zurich headquarters.
One of the fi rst major tasks that the
organisers had to tackle was securing the
stadiums for a tournament taking place
just as the men’s professional J.League
domestic competition is getting underway.
“We were only confi rmed as hosts as
the J-League was fi nalising its schedule
for next season – leaving us with quite a
challenge to fi nd stadiums that were still
available,” Nogami explained.
That challenge has already been more
than met, however, with Nogami’s team
successfully booking fi ve stadiums (in
Role model: Mana
Iwabuchi starred
in Japan’s senior
Women’s World Cup
triumph only a year
after taking part in
the U-20 edition.
Kobe, Hiroshima, Miyagi, Saitama and
Tokyo). These stadiums have capacities
ranging from 21,500 in Saitama to 53,000
in Tokyo’s National Stadium, which is
scheduled to host the tournament fi nal
on 8 September.
However, it is the Miyagi Stadium which
gives the clearest indication of how far
Japan’s beleaguered nation has progressed
since last year’s trauma. The massive tremor
shattered glass, cracked walls and damaged
roof pillars at the stadium, which is located
near the epicentre of the 9.0-magnitude
earthquake, but repairs are being carried
out and the stadium is due to reopen in
the summer.
“By staging matches in the earthquakehit
region, we want to show the world that
with their help the situation has improved
and we’re back on course,” says Nogami.
“The decision to play matches in Miyagi
Stadium is a sign of encouragement not
only to the people of the affected region,
but for the whole of Japan, and it also gives
us an opportunity to show our gratitude
for the support we received from the
worldwide football family last year.”
Fertile ground
In addition to Japan’s experience of
hosting FIFA tournaments and the excellent
standard of its existing infrastructure and
stadiums, another compelling reason to
take the tournament to Japan was the
spiralling interest in women’s football
following the national team’s memorable
triumph over the USA at the senior FIFA
Women’s World Cup in 2011.
The victorious Nadeshiko players have
since acquired celebrity status in Japan,
appearing on chat shows and in TV
commercials, while their inspirational
captain Homare Sawa and coach Norio
Sasaki received individual acclamation