Japan’s soccer world has handed the reins to Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, a 47-year-old “former player” administrator with a strong background in both the national team and the country’s J-League.
According to Kyodo News and Nikkan Sports, the former national team captain was officially sworn in as the 15th president of the Japan Football Association on Wednesday.
Miyamoto, who previously served as the federation’s executive director, was selected to succeed Gozo Tashima after receiving a majority of support from the 74 members of the extraordinary council meeting on Dec. 24 last year.
Miyamoto became the youngest president in the history of the Japan Football Association when the extraordinary council officially approved his succession on Wednesday.
He is the first president in Japanese soccer history to have played in both the J-League and the FIFA World Cup.
At a press conference shortly after his appointment, Miyamoto laid out his vision for the organization, which included reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time, winning the World Cup by 2050, and hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2021.
Japan’s men’s national team’s best finish at the World Cup is the round of 16. The women’s team won in 2011.
“I will help the ‘Samurai Blue’ (men’s national team) reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time and beyond,” he said, “and I will help Nadeshiko Japan (women’s national team) become the best in the world again.”
“Just like the ‘2005 Declaration,’ we will endeavor to host the World Cup in Japan once again by 2050 and have the national team win it.”
The Japan Football Association launched the “Japan’s Way” project in 2005. The goal is to increase the number of people involved in soccer to 10 million by 2050 and win the World Cup.
Miyamoto was a longtime defender in the J-League 메이저토토사이트 during his playing days.
He started his professional career with Gamba Osaka in 1995, joined Salzburg (Austria) in 2006 and played for Vissel Kobe for two years from 2009.
He began his coaching career with the Gamba Osaka youth team, where he served as head coach from 2018-2021.
He also coached striker Hwang Eui-jo (Alaniaspor), who played for the South Korean national team in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
He has also played 71 A matches for the Japanese national team. He also played in two FIFA World Cups (2002-2006).
Most notably, he captained Japan at the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, where he helped Japan reach the round of 16 for the first time. He also participated in the 2004 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in China, where he won the title.