As perhaps much expected, Nadeshiko Japan was the face of the 2011 sports scene in Japan.
The World Cup-winning women's national squad received the Japan Pro Sports Grand Prize at the annual Japan Sports Awards ceremony at a Tokyo hotel on Tuesday.
Nadeshiko Japan is the second female athlete or all-female team to be selected for the sportsperson of the year award. Golfer Ayako Okamoto won it in 1987. The national team is also the first team of any kind to earn the award since the Urawa Reds in 2007.