Japan’s national team finishes runner-up at the global five-a-side football tournament “F5WC,” hosted by SSU!!

Hello, I’m Shimizu from the Media Relations Department, about to start my third year!

As previously introduced on our PR blog, I am in charge of the five-a-side amateur football tournament at-home FOOTBALL FIVES, for which SUNNY SIDE UP organizes the Japan tournament!! I have zero years of football experience and am a complete beginner, but I love sports, and thanks to this project I have come to love football (laughs).

In that blog post, we introduced the team “TamaChan,” which won through the world tournament qualifiers “at-home FOOTBALL FIVES” held in Japan from last September through January.

The winning team, “TamaChan”

Then, the other day, the world tournament was held in Bangkok, Thailand. At SUNNY SIDE UP, we traveled to Bangkok with the players to handle practical operations as the LOC (local organizing committee/secretariat) for the Japan qualifiers, support the Japan national team, and coordinate media covering the team on the ground. (Last year it was Dubai!! It was my first overseas business trip since joining the company. lol)

Three members from SUNNY SIDE UP went to Bangkok! In addition to accompanying the players, there was plenty to do on site, including:
● Meetings with the home association (organizing body)
● Attending the press conference
● Sharing on-site updates via social media
● Local coordination
● Coordinating media traveling from Japan
and more!!

In the heat of over 30°C, the world tournament “F5WC” was held at the massive shopping mall MegaBangna in Bangkok. Representative teams that had won their national qualifiers gathered from 32 countries worldwide.
In addition, former Spain international Michel Salgado and England international Paul Scholes visited the venue to encourage the players, and finally took on an exhibition match with an all-star team formed from the top eight teams and above.

Now then, let us share how Japan’s national team performed at the world tournament! Japan was placed in the group stage with the United States, Turkey, and India.
Their first match was against the United States, which hosts the world’s largest-scale qualifiers (a very strong team…). Japan struggled to find its rhythm due to the heat and first-match nerves, but with only seconds left in stoppage time in the second half, a Japan player scored the equalizer to earn 1 point!!! From there, Japan surged forward, defeating Turkey and India and securing a spot in the knockout stage.

In the knockout stage, Japan continued to advance, beating South Africa—an African powerhouse that topped Group D—2–1, and England—featuring a former Chelsea U-19 player—3–0. In the semifinal against Ireland, after a tense 0–0 match, Japan won a nail-biting penalty shootout to secure Japan’s first-ever place in the world tournament final.

A behind-the-scenes note: when we won the penalty shootout, I couldn’t help but cry…

In the final, Japan narrowly lost 1–3 to powerhouse Colombia, but Japan’s national team “TamaChan” achieved the remarkable feat of finishing second in the world. I also realized that “F5WC” has a different balance of power among countries than regular football, and part of its appeal is that you never know which country will win!!

We were also able to see differences in football culture by country—where football is the mainstream sport versus where futsal is more prevalent. Thailand, the host country this time, is a nation where football is extremely popular, and many J.League players also compete in the Thai Premier League. Naturally, for Thailand’s matches in “F5WC,” many Thai fans gathered at the venue to cheer on their team. Seeing that, our leader, Mr. Iarashi, was filled with the passionate desire to “host the world tournament in Japan someday!”—and I truly felt the spirit of “wanting to stir up some fun commotion” in his eyes!

At the world tournament, rather than going only as the tournament secretariat for the Japan event, we were able to share victories and moving moments with the players—and even share their frustration. It really made me feel that SSU has nurtured “F5WC” as content from the ground up since it was at zero base.

After returning to Japan, I have been suffering from “F5WC withdrawal”…

However, if you are thinking, “This ‘F5WC’ looks kind of interesting!!”
there are actually two ways to share in that excitement!!

How to share the excitement: Part ①

The official Facebook and Twitter for “F5WC JAPAN” provide detailed updates on the tournament!
F5WC official website, official Facebook, and Twitter are here:
Website: http://www.f-netweb.com/event/f5wc/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/f5wcjapan
Twitter: http://twitter.com/F5WC_JAPAN

The official “F5WC” Facebook

How to share the excitement: Part ②

Amazingly, it is scheduled to air on Saturday the 12th on Nippon TV’s “Going! Sports&News” (23:55–)!
In fact, Nippon TV’s Going team closely followed the guardian angel of Japan’s national team players at the world tournament in Thailand.
At the end of the feature, there will be a shocking conclusion beyond what we shared on Facebook!!!!!!!!!!!
Please be sure to watch!
*Broadcast content is subject to change.

At SUNNY SIDE UP, you can be present for thrilling and moving moments in sports like these!

F5WC is a project that has taken shape, even if only a little, from the desire to “bring bright news to Japan’s sports world!” and “have SUNNY SIDE UP energize Japan’s sports scene!” We hope to create many more experiences like this going forward!

We appreciate your continued support for F5WC (five-a-side amateur football)!