The National High School Football Championship, which competes for the best high school football in Japan, started at the National Stadium on the 28th.
The opening ceremony was held at the Tokyo National Stadium, with Aomori Yamada High School, aiming for consecutive championships, leading the way, with 48 teams representing each prefecture, including Tokyo, where two teams will participate.
Rikuto Shintani, captain of Kyoto Higashiyama High School, took the oath as a player and said, "Since I entered high school, the new coronavirus has been prevalent, and the days when I can't play soccer to my heart's content continue, and I feel anxious many times. In the midst of this, I once again felt that soccer is something that all of my friends do." After talking about the feelings he felt during club activities during the corona whirlpool, he said, "The Japan national team will bring dreams, hopes, and excitement to many people at the World Cup. They gave us. Next time, we want to deliver courage and excitement to all over Japan."
In the opening match that followed, Tokyo's Seisei Gakuen faced Mie's Tsu Kogyo.
In the match, Seitei Gakuen took the lead in the 35th minute of the first half when Jinda Seiryuu pushed a loose ball in front of the goal to take the lead.
Tsu Kogyo also returned two goals from here, creating many chances to tie the score in the final stages of the match, but no goal was scored.
The tournament will be held at nine venues in the Kanto region, with the semi-finals on the 7th of next month and the finals on the 9th at the National Stadium.