On October 1, the cup final of the Japanese women’s professional soccer league “WE League” was held and the first champion was decided. About a month and a half earlier, in August, the women’s soccer tournament “TICAD CUP 2022” was held in Uganda, located in East Africa. These two tournaments, held so far apart in Uganda and Japan, brought the women’s soccer worlds of the two countries together. It has been one year and four months since the WE League and JICA signed a partnership agreement that aims to develop developing regions through soccer. We explored the power of sports to transcend national borders.
Refugee athletes also play in Uganda’s women’s soccer tournament
Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, where more than 1.5 million refugees are currently residing. JICA, the Uganda Football Federation (FUFA), and others co-hosted a women’s soccer tournament, “TICAD CUP 2022,” for three days from August 19 to 21 in Uganda. The event aimed to promote understanding of the current situation of women and refugees in Ugandan society and to raise awareness of TICAD 8 and JICA’s efforts. 5 teams invited by FUFA, plus mixed teams of refugees and host communities participated. The mixed team of refugees and host community who have been playing barefoot soccer against the strong FUFA invited team won one game, which was a great sensation for all concerned.
If you look closely at the uniforms worn by the players of the mixed teams, you will see Japanese characters printed on them. In fact, these uniforms were provided free of charge by the WE League through JICA. The WE League’s philosophy of “contributing to the realization and development of a society where dreams and lifestyles of all people can shine through women’s soccer and sports” overlaps with JICA’s goal under its “Sport and Development” strategy of “a peaceful world where all people can enjoy sports. The WE LEAGUE and JICA signed a partnership agreement in June 2021, and the donation of the uniforms was realized as an action of this partnership.
The winning team explodes with joy as they raise their trophy.
It was Kikuko Okajima, the first chair of the WE League who retired at the end of September, who proposed the donation of uniforms for the TICAD CUP 2022. She had the following thoughts in mind.
The J-League has been donating uniforms to developing countries for some time, but the men’s uniforms are often too big for the women’s players. I have always wanted to donate uniforms in sizes that would fit them. I am very happy that we were able to make this happen this time.”
Message of International Cooperation and Diversity to be Launched at the WE League Finals
At the WE League Cup Final held on October 1 at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka (Kita-ku, Tokyo), a variety of projects were implemented to further deepen the collaboration between the WE League and JICA.
The JICA booth was located in a corner of the venue, where visitors could write messages of support for the Ugandan women’s soccer team and experience the traditional Vietnamese sport of dà cau with JICA trainees of various nationalities while a video of the TICAD CUP 2022 match was shown. The event also solicited for soccer equipment to be donated to the Ugandan women’s soccer team, and through small exchanges, the participants became interested in Uganda, other African countries, and international cooperation.
JICA booth with panels and videos introducing African countries and the Ugandan women’s soccer team
Many visitors wrote messages to the Ugandan players.
Children kicking wings with JICA trainees in the traditional Vietnamese sport of “Dak Kau”.
Before the game began, the TICAD CUP 2022 was shown on the stadium’s large screen. This was an attempt to let spectators know that there are girls who are crazy about soccer even in distant Uganda.
One of the most notable events was the implementation of “Escort Diversity People,” the first of its kind in the WE-League. Four JICA trainees of various nationalities joined people of various genders, ages, disabilities, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and other diverse personalities to create a hanamichi (flower path) and escort the players onto the pitch. This was also the idea of first chair Okajima.
By bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, I thought it would convey at a glance that the WE-League values diversity,” says Okajima.
(top) Images of Ugandan women’s soccer were shown on a vision screen before the game (middle and bottom) JICA trainees welcomed the players with children as escort diversity people.
Make women’s sports an aspirational profession for girls.
After a dramatic three-goal overturn, the game ended with a victory for the MHI Urawa Reds Ladies. Although the match was well worth watching, there are still many issues to be addressed, according to Okajima, the first chairperson of the Urawa Reds.
‘It is by no means doing well from a box office standpoint. Our biggest challenge is to get more people interested in women’s soccer and the WE League. In order for athletes and professional female soccer players to be listed as the dream job for girls, we need to improve the treatment of the players and also actively conduct PR activities.
The WE League was the first professional league for women’s team sports. Its launch had a great significance as a flagship to improve the social significance of women’s sports. Being a professional league has also helped the players improve their level of performance, as they have more time to spend on body development, such as training and massages, unlike amateurs who practice in limited time after work.
I would like to continue to create horizontal ties that go beyond baseball, softball, basketball, and other sports, and to encourage children from different family backgrounds, especially girls, to have opportunities to play sports. In Europe and the United States, there are several iconic players who are the object of admiration for soccer girls. I hope that the WE-League will produce such players.”
We want to energize women’s soccer and women’s sports in Japan and spread that enthusiasm outside of Japan. First chair Okajima strongly believes that sports have the power to move and enthuse people and bring them together. This power transcends gender, country, and language.
Kikuko Okajima, the first chair of the WE LEAGUE CUP, visited the venue of the WE LEAGUE CUP final.
The Power of Sports to Empower People
When asked what he hoped to see in the future in terms of collaboration with JICA through women’s soccer, Okajima, the first chair, gave the following answer.
In the future, I would like to see WE League players go to developing countries and give their uniforms directly to children. I would also like them to open soccer schools there. In the face of children devoting themselves to soccer in a situation where facilities and soccer equipment are not available, the players can also see the option of working as local coaches after they retire. On the other hand, by witnessing the existence of professional female soccer players, the children will learn that there is a world where they can make a living playing soccer, and that becoming a female soccer player will become their future dream. We would be happy if we could implement such activities in cooperation with JICA.
The WE League Cup final game was a heated contest watched by a large crowd.
Sports have the power to empower people. Uganda and Japan. Even though they are far apart across the ocean, the success of athletes from both countries should serve as an inspiration to each other. The current situation surrounding women’s sports is difficult not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world, but I hope that the fever of women’s soccer in Japan and Uganda will become a big swell, and that women’s soccer and other women’s sports will expand their horizons worldwide.
© Source JICA
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.