Gamesmanship vs. Sportmanship

This Saturday (3/22) in Kawasaki there will be a US representative team meeting a Japanese team for the "" Under-19 Global Challenge Bowl game at Kawasaki Stadium (2:00 PM) Kickoff. The game will also be telecast in Japan on Sky A. But will it be a trap?

Unfortunately, the approaches to this game seem to be quite different. The US team has come with the assumption that this was about cultural exchange. Their players are seen as "ambassadors"- generally honors students (the overall team GPA is something like 3.6), all in high school, all under 19. Many are from smaller schools around the country that don't get much attention. They have been enjoying cultural exchange throughout the Kanto area- martial arts demonstrations, visits to schools, a Toshiba factory, etc. 35 host families have volunteered to house and feed them breakfasts and dinners. The players and their host families received tickets to the Red Sox and Oakland A's game on Easter Sunday. By all accounts, Kawasaki has done a marvelous job, and it has been a terrific experience for all sides. There was a banquet for both teams on Tuesday night, where players got to meet each other, talked, even arm-wrestled each other in fun. It was an example of the sporting experience at its best.

At the banquet however, the head coach of this year's Japanese squad Mr Uchida (Nihon University), seemed to set a far more grave tone, invoking "national pride" several times in his address. This alarmed the Americans, who thought they were coming over for a friendly game and cultural exchange for young people (principally sponsored by GE).

Whereas the US team is made up of some good players (all under 19), they are not necessarily the top football talent from the US; rather they're good kids who are good citizens and very good students. They are representatives. Young men who love football, but also hope to have a great cultural and educational experience, and make some new friends. On the contrary, most of the Japanese team seems to be stocked with the top athletes only from the top Japanese university school teams, and only a few high school players. What is more, most of the Japanese players are 19 (some allegedly more).

As the US head coach expressed to me, "I feel like we've been set up". Apparently he has not received proper exchanges of video tapes, etc. either.

This antagonistic, hyper-competitive approach by the Japanese side is a mistake for two reasons. First, it could be seen as a serious slap in the face to the concept of friendly sportsmanship. This could trigger a very negative reaction on the other side. Not good for international football relations. Perhaps the answer is simply the concept of 'sportsmanship' is somehow lacking in Japan.

While the hyper-competitiveness on the Japanese side is somewhat understandable, and it admirable to strive to win, winning should never come at the expense of the integrity of the game of football or the broader experience in society.

Secondly, the approach by the Japanese staff seems to be missing a fantastic opportunity to grow the game of football in Japan. It is sacrificing the growth of the game for the short-term interests (a win in a "trap game", an artificial boost for the ego, etc.).

A team selecting only the top athletes from only the top universities may serve the interests of a single game win (or someone's political or recruiting interests), and may drum up some false pride, but it is certainly NOT good for the game of football in Japan. These attitudes might win a battle, but will certainly lose the real war in the long-term.

It continues to be a problem within the football community in Japan- too much power (greed) and wealth concentrated with only a few. Not enough thought and effort to growing the game over-all, which in the long run would be to everyone's benefit- including those bigger fishes in the pond.


The rules also allow up to six players from a single school (no more than three allowed on the field at one time). Six players from one school? Any more than two from a single school is probably too many- especially on a 35 man roster. Especially for the host country, one where there are quite a few more schools that play football. (The US team represents 25 schools from at least a dozen States). Here was a golden opportunity for Japanese young men at smaller, less well-known schools (for football) in Japan- which don't get the same opportunities for publicity or excitement- to send representatives, and all the benefits it would bring. A chance to broaden the opportunities and appeal to as wide a network of players and fans as possible in Japan.

The USA team in last year's World Cup games was better example of how it was meant to be done: the USA selection rules insisted that the team was truly representative. Players came from all divisions of the NCAA (college and university) and NAIA schools, not just the top division. Sure, the exciting final game was much closer than it otherwise would have been, but more important objectives were also met. Japan would do much better to follow this example.

I can only hope that corrections will be made in the future with more of the interests of young people and the game of football foremost in mind.