Which team will claim the title of Japan representative?! The Japan representative for the 5-a-side amateur soccer tournament “F5WC” has been decided!

Hello, this is PR Sunny-chan!

As previously introduced on our blog, the Japan Finals of one of SUNNY SIDE UP’s sports initiatives, “F5WC (The Football Fives World Championship)”, the “2nd Athome FOOTBALL FIVES,” was held on Sunday, January 17, at Ajinomoto Stadium!

The winner was the Kanagawa Tamagawa representative “TamaChan,” formed mainly by current university students!In 2014, SUNNY SIDE UP launched the F5WC JAPAN Operations Office and has been responsible for tournament branding, operations, audience development, and PR for F5WC. The 2015–2016 tournament, the second edition, welcomed approximately 240 teams from 30 venues nationwide. And then, the finals tournament featuring the champion teams that advanced from each qualifying event! As a PR representative for SUNNY SIDE UP, I attended the finals as well, so in this article I will share what it was like!

The finals venue: “Ajinomoto Stadium”

The finals were held at “Ajinomoto Stadium,” where J.League matches and this year’s Emperor’s Cup (The Emperor’s Cup JFA Japan Football Championship) were played. It is a fitting venue for deciding Japan’s representative!

Opening Ceremony / Opening Event

Qualifying tournaments were held from last September at 30 venues across the Tohoku, Kanto, Joshinetsu, Tokai, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions. A total of 32 teams—30 teams that won their qualifiers plus 2 teams in special slots—will compete for the title of Japan representative.

It’s finally kickoff!

The tournament program consists of a preliminary group stage divided into 8 leagues of 4 teams each, and the top 2 teams from each group—16 teams in total—advance to the knockout finals. Participants included the inaugural “F5WC” Japan representative “Shibata Komuten,” former J.League players, former Japan national beach soccer team players, the top scorer of the National High School Soccer Championship, and players from adult leagues, making for high-level matches from the group stage that you won’t want to miss!

During the tournament, updates were shared via the official Twitter! In addition to match coverage, we also introduced participants’ enthusiasm and thoughts about joining the tournament.
Thank you to everyone who kindly cooperated with the filming!

Special guest Masakiyo Maezono appears!

As a special guest, Masakiyo Maezono, a former Japan national team player who has served as the official tournament ambassador for “Athome FOOTBALL FIVES” since last year, made an appearance! He offered words of encouragement to teams that were eliminated in the group stage.
From the semifinals, Maezono provided live commentary! With match developments worthy of the pros, his commentary was equally energized.

Kanagawa representative “TamaChan,” crowned champion

The Kanagawa representative “TamaChan,” which brilliantly secured the title of Japan representative, went undefeated through both the group stage and the knockout finals, demonstrating overwhelming strength. The photo captures the moment of the goal, but apologies that it is hard to see… It was a perfectly converted free kick!
They won the championship just two months after forming the team! Ambassador Maezono commented, “I was surprised they were able to build a team in just two months. It shows how close they are, how excellent their teamwork is, and that each member shares what they want to achieve.”
In a scrum interview, they shared their determination for the world tournament in March, saying, “We will do our best to live up to everyone’s expectations!” We hope they will continue to demonstrate their strong teamwork and fight hard for the title at the main event as well!

With most of the teams that had been in the spotlight as championship contenders being eliminated in the group stage, the tournament took an unexpected turn, and it gave the impression that both the tournament level and the competitive level have risen! Surely, from the next tournament onward, it will be an even higher-level battle! To all teams that participated, thank you for your hard work!

And let’s all cheer together so that “TamaChan” can win the world tournament!

F5WC official website, official Facebook, and Twitter are here:
HP: http://www.f-netweb.com/event/f5wc/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/f5wcjapan
Twitter: http://twitter.com/F5WC_JAPAN