[EXILE CUP 2025 Report]Achieving long-cherished wish after 6 years! Soja Kita Soccer Club, which won the Okayama team’s showdown, won the first Chinese tournament in the EXILE CUP 2025!

EXILE CUP 2025 Soja Kita Soccer Club won the China Tournament[Photo]= Mimura Ryo

The Chinese tournament for the “EXILE CUP 2025,” a futsal tournament for fourth- to sixth graders, organized by LDH JAPAN Inc., was held on July 20th at the Kannon Shinmachi Sports Square, the Uchiku Industry Ikueikai in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture.

“EXILE CUP” started in 2010 as part of a social contribution activity under the theme of “Dreams for Children,” and this year marks the 13th time. The Chugoku Tournament will feature 36 teams, including 19 teams from local Hiroshima Prefecture, nine from Yamaguchi Prefecture, five from Okayama Prefecture, and three from Shimane Prefecture, and the winning team will be given the right to participate in the final tournament to be held in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.

At the opening ceremony, Tachibana Kenchi (EXILE/EXILE THE SECOND) greeted the audience by saying, “I hope they will share various things with their friends who I work hard with on a daily basis, while also working hard to be grateful to the directors, parents and those who support us every day.” Guest EXILE NESMITH also called out, “Good luck with your best performance today so that it will be a memory of the summer vacation right after it begins.”

Before the match began, the players warmed up with “Cracki! Dance,” developed by the Japan Football Association under the supervision of EXILE TETSUYA. The venue is located over Hiroshima Bay, where islands are floating, and on the pitch “a place surrounded by the sea and mountains, it’s a really pleasant place” (Tachibana), and the battle between the players began in the midst of the hot sun and the calm sea breeze.

The qualifying league was divided into nine blocks for each of four teams, and a round-robin match was held in a 7-minute half-man match. A total of 16 teams, nine teams ranked first in each block and the top 7 teams scored second in each block, will advance to the final tournament. Among them, one of the teams that showed strength was Fukuyama Rosas Celéção (Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture), who won in 2023. This tournament was also outstanding in his individual skills and high collaboration, and he scored the top spot with an overwhelming strength of 22 points in three games. Manager Niioka Hidetoshi said the secret to his strength, saying, “Our number one motto is to get the ball firmly from the front line and put a strong press, so I’m conscious of getting the ball straight after taking it.”

Others also passed the preliminary rounds, including Yamaguchi Soccer School, which was the champion last year (Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), FC Liberdade Yamaguchi (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), which was the runner-up in 2023, and women’s team AIC Hiroshima F. Do Ladies (Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture). Seven teams from Hiroshima Prefecture, four from Yamaguchi Prefecture, three from Okayama Prefecture, and two from Shimane Prefecture advanced to the final tournament.

The final tournament was held in the half-five minutes, and in his first match, Fukuyama Rosas Seleèreçon faced Urayasu Football Club (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture), which won the 2016 victory. They took the lead and attacked, but they struggled with the tenacious defense of Urayasu Football Club, which won all the qualifying rounds without conceding a goal, and ended up scoreless, and ended up losing to the final 16 after a penalty shootout.

Urayasu Football Club, which advanced with solid defense, won a comfortable 5-0 victory over FC Takazenji Junior (Ota City, Shimane Prefecture) in the quarter-finals. In the next semi-final, they faced CUORE (Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), which had advanced to the championship last year by defeating Yamaguchi Soccer School. They were leading the game with a one-point lead, but CUORE, who had been persistent throughout the tournament, scored a equaliser in the final play and conceded their first goal of the tournament. Still, he won the penalty shootout and advanced to the finals for the first time in nine years.

In the mountain on the other side, Soja Kita Soccer Club (Soja City, Okayama Prefecture), which finished in 2019, won 4-1 against Onomichi Higashi SANBA Football Club A (Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture) to advance to the top eight. In the quarter-finals, they won a comeback 2-1 victory over FC Marvos Hiroshima (Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture), and they caught up with one point behind in the semi-final match against Avansar FC (Akaiwa City, Okayama Prefecture), and in the end, No. 10, Ogata Yone, made a spectacular shot, “I kicked it to the target as hard as I could,” leading to a comeback 2-1 victory. They won a series of close matches and advanced to the finals for the second time since 2019.

The final match was a showdown between Okayama and the two of them who know each other well. Soja Kita Soccer Club took the lead in the match, which was held again in the 7-minute half. Captain Shimizu Eidai, who lifted the left side in the first play, said, “I wanted to score and win, so I swung through,” and thrusts his specialty left-footed shot, and succeeds in a surprise attack just as planned. Three minutes later, he held in front of the goal, and in the end, Hashimoto Kento scored a major additional goal, taking a two-point lead in the first half.

In the second half, Urayasu Football Club, who wanted to catch up, strengthened its offensive from the start, but the players who had won the tournament looked tired and the counterattacks were not fruitful. On the other hand, Soja Kita Soccer Club gained momentum with two goals, and with No. 10 Ogata, who had been stamina in the front line, did not lose strength until the end, enduring the opponent’s fierce attack and won 2-0. He won his long-awaited first victory.

Morita Taishi, manager of Soja Kita Soccer Club, who won the championship in the second final, was pleased, saying, “I’m so moved that I can’t find any other words,” and praised the team, saying, “My power is what I sell, and the players have put all their strength into the end. We have a team that has a weed spirit and wins with everyone’s strength, so I want to praise the children there.”

Urayasu Football Club manager Akasaka Kazuya, who finished runner-up, praised the team’s good efforts, saying, “It’s thanks to the kids that they’ve been able to advance to this extent,” and vowed to get revenge, saying, “These kids would normally feel fine with winning games, but today they’re feeling frustrated after losing in the final, so I think they can improve their level from now on. I’d like to fight Soja again at that time.”

Soja Kita Soccer Club has been decided to advance to the final tournament to be held in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture in September. This was the first time that the club was able to win a ticket to a national tournament on its own. Manager Morita said with a smile, “My dream is big, and I want to continue working hard in the hopes of winning the national championship,” and captain Shimizu said with a smile, “I’m very happy because I didn’t think I could win. It’s my first time in the country, and there are many strong teams, but I want to do my best to advance.” Ogata also said with determination, “I haven’t finished here, so I want to do my best to achieve good results in the national tournament.”

Tachibana, who watched the tournament, replied, “As always, various dramas have been born, and there have been many scenes where my eyes are glued to the final, and it was a day that once again made me realize that the pure love for soccer is amazing,” he said, “I hope that the winning teams will aim for even higher, and the losing teams will not forget the frustration. I think that in the future, we will be able to work together with our friends to reach a single goal, so I hope that from this age group, we will be able to acquire such things intuitively through soccer.”

NESMITH said, “What was impressive was that mixed teams that were not separate men and women, and teams that were only girls achieved good results. I was really impressed by how children compete across genders in a sport where there are a lot of physical contact. I was so passionate about it as a child, and I hadn’t had the experience of fighting with my friends, so everyone today seemed to shine. I would be happy if this tournament would become a source of energy for their lives in the future.”

This year’s China Tournament, held in Hiroshima City, marking 80 years since the end of the war, was a day filled with energetic children who are devoted to sports. Tachibana said, “We are active on the theme of wanting to give people energy and smiles through entertainment, and to revitalize Japan, and we have always wanted to let artists go to the area, interact with various people, and support the community more. Hiroshima has a sad past, but we are able to continue our activities to ensure that people living in this world can accumulate memories full of dreams and hope.” He concluded the tournament with strong words for his continued social contribution activities in the future.

Text by Minato Kodai Photo by Mimura Ryo