FIFA President Gianni Infantino is looking forward to working with new Japan Football Association (JFA) President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto “to ensure football unites everyone in Japan, Asia, and the world” following the former Japan men’s national team captain’s election in March 2024. Miyamoto led the Samurai Blue at the FIFA World Cup 2002™ – co-hosted by Japan and Korea Republic – and again four years later in Germany. In addition to the experience gained during 71 international appearances, Miyamoto’s post-playing career saw him enjoy a successful stint as head coach of Gamba Osaka, winning the J.League Manager of the Year in 2020. He then turned his attentions and talents to spearheading the development of the beautiful game in his country as JFA General Secretary and since March 2024 as President. “It was my pleasure to welcome Japan Football Association President, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, to FIFA’s Paris office today. We discussed topics relating to football development and touched upon the JFA’s upcoming FIFA Forward projects intending to support and improve the already impressive performances of their national teams, particularly the men's team with an eye on the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup in 2026,” said President Infantino. “President Miyamoto knows what it means to play at a FIFA World Cup, and as a former Samurai Blue, I believe he will lead JFA with the same intent, energy, and determination he showed in captaining the national team. I thanked President Miyamoto for his time and am looking forward to working together to ensure football unites everyone in Japan, Asia, and the world.”

In recent years, the FIFA Forward programme has been instrumental in propelling Japanese football to new heights at both senior and youth levels. Various domestic youth competitions, supported by the Forward programme, have been a cornerstone in producing world-class talent annually. Building on this success, the JFA now aims to secure FIFA Forward 3.0 funding to optimise support for the Samurai Blue during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, with a prime focus to succeed in the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup in 2026. In Paris to attend the Summer Olympic Games, Miyamoto saw both the Japan men’s and women’s national teams reach the quarter-finals of their respective Olympic Football Tournaments, the second successive Games in which both sides have progressed to the knockout stages.

Japan has a 50-year plan for football in the country called the JFA Pledge, which outlines their goal of winning the FIFA World Cup™ in 2050. Miyamoto is now ready to take the next step as the mid-point of that road map is reached by showing Japan is prepared to host a major FIFA tournament again. “We need to increase the numbers of players, of course, and (consider) how to and when,” said Mr Miyamoto, who is the first JFA President to have played at a FIFA World Cup™. “In order to do so, we are interested to host the (FIFA) Women’s World Cup in 2031, I told (President Infantino). Of course, there will be competitors, of course…So, that was the biggest point of our meeting today.”