Japan must build foundation for women's game after withdrawing bid
The Japan Football Association has lost its easy route to building momentum for the sport after dropping out of contention for the 2023 World Cup.
Japan ends bid to host 2023 Women's World Cup, citing Olympic delay
The 37-member FIFA Council will now choose between Colombia and a joint Australia-New Zealand bid on Thursday.
Emperor's Cup expands to 52 teams after adding J2 and J3 champions
The national cup tournament had previously cut most of its J. League participants in order to allow clubs to focus on completing their seasons.
JFA's vision for new pro women's league ambitious, but Women's World Cup bid remains pragmatic
The WE League has the right message, but delivering on its promises for the sport will take more than a slogan.
The Japan Football Association has approved loans totaling ¥210 million ($1.9 million) to 115 financially strapped soccer clubs, it announced Thursday. Funds for the first 71 loans, part of a program to keep teams going during the new coronavirus pandemic, have already been transferred after ...
With professional soccer at a standstill in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual tournament will be shortened to allow J. League clubs to focus on completing their seasons.
J. League offers clubhouses as PCR testing sites
The J. League isn’t just doing everything it can to help players and fans stay safe when professional soccer returns to Japan — it’s also stepping up to help the country’s efforts against the coronavirus. Following last week’s meeting of the league’s executive committee to ...
JFA chief Kozo Tashima calls on Japan to support health care 'national team'
After recently being discharged from the hospital following his two-week battle with COVID-19, Japan's top soccer official urged the public to offer more support to the country's medical workers.
COVID-19 strikes Japanese soccer
Since late February, Japanese soccer's professional and amateur competitions have shut down in an attempt to protect players, coaches and fans from the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that has forced the cancellation of major sporting events around the world. On Tuesday, a wrench was thrown into ...
JOC deputy head, JFA chief Kozo Tashima tests positive for coronavirus
Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima has tested positive for the coronavirus, a JFA source said Tuesday. Tashima has sat on FIFA's board of directors and currently serves as a vice president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, among a number of other high-level roles in ...
South Africa pulls out of Japan U-23 friendly over virus concerns
South Africa has canceled a men's under-23 friendly against Japan over concerns about the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Japan Football Association revealed Sunday. According to the JFA's technical director, Takashi Sekizuka, the South African Football Association has sent a letter of its intent to withdraw. ...
VAR and contact guidelines will change look of J. League officiating
Under normal circumstances, the Japan Football Association would prefer that its referees be conductors, blending into the background and occasionally providing a guiding whistle as the players take center stage. But after a 2019 season that saw match officials thrust into the national spotlight, 2020 ...
