ID :
171676
Tue, 03/29/2011 - 19:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/171676
The shortlink copeid
Japan soccer fans call for overseas help at post-quake charity match
OSAKA, March 29 Kyodo - A star-studded soccer match provided the first major sports entertainment Tuesday for people suffering in the aftermath of Japan's worst-ever quake and tsunami disaster on March 11.
Rather than a baseball or sumo event -- traditionally more
popular sports in Japan -- it was soccer fans who called for overseas
help for survivors and their supporters, encouraging them from the
stands of Osaka's Nagai Stadium where the sold-out charity match
between Japan's national team and a select team from the country's
J-League kicked off.
''I want people in the world to support our efforts to
reconstruct Japan and see a new Tohoku in the future,'' said Toru
Ikeda, a 56-year-old dentist from the nearby city of Kyoto, referring
to the northeastern region hit hard by the disaster March 11.
''I came here because I want to tell people that were hit by the
disaster that we're united and 'Hang in there,''' said Nobukazu
Kimura, 30, from Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.
The owner of a ''yakiniku'' grilled meat restaurant said he
suffered in Hyogo's Amagasaki city after the 1995 Great Hanshin
Earthquake and so he is ready to do anything he can to help
quake-affected people.
The match in the major western Japan city, with an attendance of
40,000 supporters, was televised to areas hit hard by the catastrophe, which has left nearly 30,000 people killed or unaccounted for.
The announcement of the match involving Japanese stars now
playing for European clubs, such as Yuto Nagatomo and Keisuke Honda,
also prompted foreign media such as Eurosport and Al-Jazeera to plan
to broadcast the match live. Former national team members including
Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Shunsuke Nakamura as well as veteran Kazuyoshi Miura appeared for the J-League team.
Donations of 6.5 million yen as of the end of first half, will all go to the Japanese Red Cross Society, according to the Japan Football Association.
All 38,000 tickets were sold out nearly one hour after their
release on Wednesday before the J-League made an extra 2,000 tickets
available. Members of the national team and the J-League team took
part in donation drives from Saturday to Monday, collecting 14.99
million yen.
Rather than a baseball or sumo event -- traditionally more
popular sports in Japan -- it was soccer fans who called for overseas
help for survivors and their supporters, encouraging them from the
stands of Osaka's Nagai Stadium where the sold-out charity match
between Japan's national team and a select team from the country's
J-League kicked off.
''I want people in the world to support our efforts to
reconstruct Japan and see a new Tohoku in the future,'' said Toru
Ikeda, a 56-year-old dentist from the nearby city of Kyoto, referring
to the northeastern region hit hard by the disaster March 11.
''I came here because I want to tell people that were hit by the
disaster that we're united and 'Hang in there,''' said Nobukazu
Kimura, 30, from Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.
The owner of a ''yakiniku'' grilled meat restaurant said he
suffered in Hyogo's Amagasaki city after the 1995 Great Hanshin
Earthquake and so he is ready to do anything he can to help
quake-affected people.
The match in the major western Japan city, with an attendance of
40,000 supporters, was televised to areas hit hard by the catastrophe, which has left nearly 30,000 people killed or unaccounted for.
The announcement of the match involving Japanese stars now
playing for European clubs, such as Yuto Nagatomo and Keisuke Honda,
also prompted foreign media such as Eurosport and Al-Jazeera to plan
to broadcast the match live. Former national team members including
Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Shunsuke Nakamura as well as veteran Kazuyoshi Miura appeared for the J-League team.
Donations of 6.5 million yen as of the end of first half, will all go to the Japanese Red Cross Society, according to the Japan Football Association.
All 38,000 tickets were sold out nearly one hour after their
release on Wednesday before the J-League made an extra 2,000 tickets
available. Members of the national team and the J-League team took
part in donation drives from Saturday to Monday, collecting 14.99
million yen.
