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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2014

Chinese World Cup woes provoke self-doubt

China's long-suffering soccer fans keep looking for proxies at World Cup time, all the while grumbling under their breaths about the government's control-freak approach to choosing athletes for the national team and a lack of youth developmental leagues outside of the official system.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 17, 2008

Oil wealth has big impact on Asia's soccer landscape

When the Asian Champions League began back in March, few outside of Uzbekistan had heard of Kuruvchi. Now, with the club preparing for Wednesday's Asian Champions League quarterfinals after an extraordinary summer, the world is certainly paying attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2002

Soccer teams show the power of reform

The drama of the World Cup has implications for politics in Japan and South Korea. To be sure, soccer and politics are two different games, one a competition for skill and physical stamina and the other a struggle for power and interests. Nevertheless, we can draw lessons from the performances of the...
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2001

IMG delves into soccer, Japan

IMG, the largest sports management and marketing company in the world, is planning to get even bigger.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Aug 24, 2001

Brazilian scores with high school soccer

Akita Prefecture has traditionally been famous for its rice. But, in recent years, the quality of young soccer talent coming out of the area's high schools has caught the media spotlight.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2000

2002 World Cup: Soccer without fear?

BRUSSELS -- The first world cup of the new millennium is to be staged in Japan and South Korea in the summer of 2002. Both countries want to use this billion-dollar sporting showpiece as a global shop window allowing those watching, both in the stadiums and on TV, to see the real Japan and the real South...
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 18, 2023

How Japan's top soccer league is striving to become a climate leader

As the league continues to grow, and as climate change wreaks havoc on operations, its quest to bring healthier lifestyles to the Japanese public has expanded into environmental issues.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 13, 2023

Posh Miami enclave to become U.S. soccer hub

Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s highly-connected president, is expected to relocate to Miami in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jan 4, 2023

Brazil bids farewell to beloved soccer star Pele

On the streets of Santos, the city of 430,000 where the global superstar lived for most of his life, some struggled to come to terms with his loss.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Oct 27, 2022

A ‘landmark’ as women will coach against each other in men’s soccer

Data published by the U.S. Department of Education shows that only about 5% of all men's college teams are coached by women.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Oct 9, 2022

Indonesian soccer faces pivotal moment after stadium disaster

Experts speak of shaky infrastructure, mismanagement and the potential for heated passions to descend into violence that has killed scores since the 1990s.
SOCCER / From the Spot
Sep 20, 2022

Kosuke Kimura expects tough fight between Japan and USMNT

The former Colorado Rapids defender, now an assistant coach with Major League Soccer's Nashville SC, hopes the Samurai Blue can learn from their opponents' optimism in Friday's friendly.
SOCCER
Sep 14, 2022

Haruna Takata to replace Kikuko Okajima as WE League chairperson

The former V-Varen Nagasaki president will take charge of Japan's professional women's soccer league just six months after joining the J. League's board of directors.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Oct 1, 2021

JFA seeks Nadeshiko Japan revival under youth wizard Futoshi Ikeda

The 50-year-old, whose Japan side won the 2018 U-20 Women's World Cup, wants to restore the senior team's standing after it struggled to achieve results in recent international competitions.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 5, 2021

WE League welcomes Yogibo as title partner, DAZN as broadcaster

In sponsoring Japan's new professional women's soccer league, the two companies doubled down on their commitments toward gender equality other sustainable development goals.
Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Mar 18, 2020

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.
SOCCER / Women's World Cup
Jul 6, 2015

Nadeshiko fans unbowed by 5-2 loss to U.S. in World Cup final

Even a stunning 5-2 loss to the United States can't harm the legacy of Homare Sawa, who likely made her final World Cup appearance in Sunday's match. That's how many of her local supporters feel, at least.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2015

FIFA's shocking calls awakened a U.S. giant

American law enforcement is looking to dismantle the cozy old-boy hierarchy that Seth Blatter has learned to play since he joined FIFA in 1975.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 12, 2011

English school teams up with famed U.K. soccer academy

An English-language school in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, has tied up with the prestigious soccer school in the U.K. that produced David Beckham, aiming to help young Japanese get a grasp of the language so they can play abroad professionally.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 20, 2008

Soccer that's played the wheely way

I like soccer. I like to watch it. I even tried to play it a few times when I was a kid, though I was not good at sports that didn't require me to use my hands, so I switched to tennis and basketball. But I can imagine how skillful you have to be to play football well, and how much fun and how exciting...
Sanfrecce have attracted more than 25,000 fans to each of their J. League games at the spectacular Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima since it opened in February.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 23, 2024

Sanfrecce feeling right at home at shiny new stadium in Hiroshima

The soccer club's new home has helped the team attract more than 25,000 fans to each J1 game in the baseball-mad city.
A banner is displayed by Northern Ireland fans in protest against the redevelopment of Casement Park for use in Euro 2028, at Windsor Park in Belfast last October.
SOCCER
Aug 24, 2024

Derelict stadium for Euro 2028 highlights Belfast’s bitter divide

The issue is stirring up old divisions and proving to be an early headache for the Labour government.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri (left) battles with Inter Milan's Carlos Augusto during Champions League action on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Sep 22, 2024

Will Premier League players really go on strike?

The debate over soccer’s crowded calendar has rumbled on and on, but a recent comment by Manchester City's Rodri feels like a significant moment.
Lassana Diarra in Paris in May last year. Diarra was at the center of a high-profile case that could shake up the transfer market in European soccer.
SOCCER
Oct 4, 2024

Top EU court rules against FIFA in key transfer market ruling

In a landmark decision, the EU's top court has ruled some international soccer rules regulating player transfers are contrary to the bloc's laws.
Stuttgart's Anrie Chase applauds the fans after a match against Bayer Leverkusen on Nov. 1.
SOCCER
Dec 29, 2024

How Anrie Chase went from a Fukushima high school to playing against Real Madrid

Just three years ago, the Stuttgart defender was still playing for Shoshi High School in Koriyama. Now he's competing against the likes of Kylian Mbappe.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (center of three) looks dejected after Thomas Partey scores Arsenal's second goal on Sunday.
SOCCER
Feb 6, 2025

Manchester City’s troubles spread from Premier League to politics

After years of dominance, this season Man City is regularly losing matches. But it is events off the pitch that risk undoing one of the world's biggest soccer clubs.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.