2011 Japan FIFA Club World Cup

Japanese Soccer

Although British sailors had introduced the sport to Japan in 1873 as the country opened its doors to the West, the Japan Football Association (JFA) was not formed until 1921 - a date that also saw the birth of the Emperor's Cup, the islands' oldest competition. The land, known by locals as Nihon Koku, had hosted the Far East Games four years previously but the Asian nation had to wait another eight years, 1929, before it became a full member of FIFA.

There were early signs then that Japan would be a force to reckoned with, but the onset of the Second World War (1939-45) and its aftermath, notably the reconstruction under American influence, meant football, a form of which (Kemari) had been part of Japanese culture associated with the Shinto religion, became rather overshadowed by baseball and the more traditional sumo.

In fact Japan did not make a significant mark in the game until they captured the AFC Asian Cup in 1992. Since then, helped by the professional championship J.League that was introduced a year later, the Far East nation has won three of the past four editions of Asia's showpiece tournament and been catapulted into the upper echelons of world football.

Associated with a unique, short-passing, technically adept style - far removed from that of many other of their continental cousins - Japan reached their first FIFA World Cup in 1998, made it to the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and, in a tournament they also co-hosted with Korea Republic, impressed at the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, making the Round of 16.

Initial growth in club football took place following Japan's surprise bronze medal success at the Mexico Olympics in 1968. The Japan Soccer League (JSL), made up of teams linked to universities or sponsored by companies, had been formed four years earlier but it was not until the 1980s that advertisers, amazed by the numbers watching European football, realised there was huge support for football.

Pre-dating the J.League, the Toyota Cup - pitting the best side from Europe and South America in a one-off match played in Japan from 1981 - further whetted the appetite of the Japanese public. Sensing a change, the JFA were not slow to seize the moment. They set up specific programmes with a strong commitment to youth, which bore fruit when they finished runners-up at the FIFA World Youth Championship Nigeria 1999.

To improve standards, quality foreign players were invited to perform in the J-League. Former national coach Zico was one of many Brazilians to have left a deep impression on the style of the Japanese game. Significant too in Japan football's amazing rise has been the success of players in Europe's top leagues. Since Hidetoshi Nakata broke the mould when he moved to Perugia a decade ago, the likes of Shinji Ono (Feyenoord, Holland), Shunsuke Nakamura (Reggina, Italy), Yoshito Okubo (Real Mallorca, Spain) and, more recently, Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund, Germany) have followed in his trailblazing steps.

Success has brought with it enormous popularity and today, both through fans and journalists, Japan is one of the best supported national teams in the world.

Host Cities

Toyota

Located in the centre of Japan's main Honshu Island, Toyota City is, as you would imagine, a place dominated by one of the world's leading car manufacturers. In the early part of the last century under its former name of Koromo, the town was undergoing steady decline as demand fell for its main commodity, raw silk. However since 1934, when automobile producers were invited to build their factories there, the area has prospered with the population rocketing to today's 350,000, 25 times higher than the figure in 1930. In 1959 Koromo officially became Toyota City.

Surrounded by acres of rice paddy fields and vegetable, peach and pear farms in the Aichi prefecture near Nagoya, Toyota City is far more than simply a home for car workers. There is a nature park nearby, which from 25 March-25 September 2005 will be the scene of EXPO 2005 - the world's first fair of the 21st Century. And helped by the company's international outlook, its residents are among the most broadminded of Japanese, having taken advantage of opportunities to travel far and wide.

While it may be regarded as a city of the future, there is plenty of history in the neighbourhood. Toyota is the homeland of the Matsudaira clan, from which Ieyasu Tokugawa came from to lay the foundations of the Edo shogunate (1603-1867). Tokugawa emerged victorious nearby at the Battle of Nagakute (1584) in one of the greatest military engagements in Japanese history.

Toyota Stadium

Completed in 2001 to mark the city's 50th birthday, Toyota Stadium is a state-of-the-art football-specific ground complete with a retractable roof. Earmarked as one of Japan's venues for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, it was ultimately discarded from the final list of ten. With the capacity to hold 45,000 spectators close to the action, the ground is said to be a favourite among supporters and players alike. One of the group matches will be played here during the tournament.

Club
Nagoya Grampus Eight, one of the founding members of the 12-team J-League in 1992, play many of their matches at the futuristic Toyota Stadium. Although the Toyota-sponsored club have not had great success in recent times, Grampus Eight, nicknamed the Noble Barbarians, can count Arsenal's French coach Arsene Wenger and former England striker Gary Lineker among the stars that have walked through their doors.

Yokohama

Japan's second largest city with a population of 3.4m, Yokohama has evolved in the past century from a tiny port of a few houses to become a major business and commercial centre. Although just half an hour from downtown Tokyo, the city has built its own unique look and atmosphere far removed from that of the Japanese capital.

Foreigners have very much been associated with Yokohama since the end of the Edo shogunate (1603-1867) and in 1859 the fishing village became one of the first to open its doors to outside trade. Since then it has grown at a devastating rate to its presence size, which, along with Tokyo, represents the largest urban sprawl in the world. With its western-style houses, giant towers, futuristic fairground and one of the planet's largest Chinatowns it is a city like few others.

If its peculiar face were not enough to tempt visitors, Yokohama boasts plenty of museums and, thanks to its foreign influence, has a choice of food to entice most people's thoughts. While there's little history to speak off in the city itself, Kamakura, Japan's capital in the 12th Century, lies relatively unspoilt 15 kilometres away.

International Stadium Yokohama

Completed in 1997 in readiness for the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, the International Stadium Yokohama lies 6km to the north of the city centre. With a capacity of 72,370, it is the country's largest ground and was the setting of the last FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany and hosted matches during the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001. Although there is some distance between the stands and the pitch, the stadium has excellent facilities for television and will play host to three matches during the FIFA Club World Championship including the final.

Club
Yokohama is considered one of Japan's more football friendly cities and until 1998 when the Flugels were forced by bankruptcy into joining crosstown rivals Marinos, the city was home to two popular J-League sides. Last season Yokohama F. Marinos claimed their second successive title and are now in the running for the AFC Champions League, which, if they won, would give them home advantage at the FIFA Club World Championship.