Japan is vying to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup to boost domestic football and narrow the gap with Europe and North America, according to the country’s football chief. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), stated in an interview with AFP at JFA headquarters in Tokyo, in front of a large photo of Japan’s World Cup-winning team, “We would like to raise the value of women’s football here.”
Miyamoto, who captained the Japan men’s team during the co-hosted World Cup with South Korea in 2002, hopes to replicate that success for women’s football in 2031. Notably, Japan has never hosted the Women’s World Cup, despite winning the tournament in 2011. However, they now face tough competition for the hosting rights, with a joint bid from the United States and Mexico, as well as reported interest from England and China.
Miyamoto emphasized the need to improve the WE League, Japan’s professional women’s league, which launched in 2021 but has struggled to attract the same audiences and revenue as women’s leagues in Europe and the U.S. He said, “We would like to increase the number of women players here.”
Since their impressive 2011 victory, Japan’s women’s team has not advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the World Cup, having lost to the U.S. in the 2015 final. Reflecting on Japan’s missed opportunities, Miyamoto remarked, “We could have done better” to leverage the interest generated by their 2011 triumph, which quickly waned.
Miyamoto aims to foster a more passionate football culture in Japan, drawing inspiration from his time with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. “They have their own culture; they have football in their daily lives,” he noted. “We haven’t built that kind of community here in Japan. I’d like to make football our culture in Japan.”
Having played 71 times for his country and captained the team at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, Miyamoto spent most of his career in the domestic J. League, a time when only a few Japan internationals played in Europe.
Japanese players are now all over Europe and the national team has benefitted as a result, regularly appearing in the World Cup knockout rounds.
“It’s very normal for them to play in the Champions League,” Miyamoto said of the current generation of players.
“When facing big teams like Germany or Spain… they have no fear.”
The steady stream of players to Europe has helped Japan’s national team but also posed problems for J. League clubs.
Miyamoto says they need to keep producing talent but argues that “transfer fees for Japanese players are low compared to players from South America”.
– Art of the deal –
Brighton paid just 2.5 million pounds to sign winger Kaoru Mitoma in 2021, while prolific goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi joined Celtic for 4.5 million pounds the same year.
“In Europe clubs are very strong, but in Japan clubs are not that strong,” said Miyamoto.
“Players who only have six months left on their contract are still playing in official matches. After the season, they will be free to go anywhere, and in that case, clubs can’t get any money.”
Miyamoto wants to bring a new way of thinking to Japanese football.
He is a graduate of the FIFA Master sports executive programme and also had a stint coaching J. League side Gamba Osaka.
He is the first JFA president to have played at a World Cup, and the youngest since the end of World War II.
“Former players, especially players who played at a high level, know how the football world works,” said Miyamoto.
“Forty-seven is not young as a person. Talking about leaders of national organisations, maybe 47 is young.
“Maybe a new generation might be able to bring something new into this world.”
