A gap is widening even in the future of Korean-Japanese football... Japan's U16 team confirmed for 'unprecedented participation' in UEFA Euro qualifiers

*This content was translated by AI.

Japan's under-16 (U16) national soccer team will participate in the qualifying round of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-17 European Championship (Euro), held in Europe. Although they will be excluded from the standings, this offers a significant opportunity to gain valuable experience simply by competing sequentially against European teams within their group.

The Japan Football Association announced on the 19th that its U16 national team will participate in Round 1 of Group 13 for the UEFA Under-17 Euro qualifiers, scheduled from October 27 to November 2 in Cyprus. Japan will face Cyprus, Romania, and the Faroe Islands. While Japan will not be included in the official qualifying standings, it will gain experience by competing against the other three teams during the qualifier period.

According to local reports from Sankei Sports and Tokyo Sports, this move is the result of Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, President of the Japan Football Association, visiting UEFA headquarters last June to personally request an invitation to the tournament. Japan had hoped that not only its U16 national team but also its under-19 (U19) national team could participate in the Euro qualifiers in a similar manner to gain experience; however, the U19 plan was canceled after failing to secure agreement from opposing teams. Instead, the Japan Football Association has stated its policy to continue having other Yeon Ryeong-byeol (CEO) teams participate in official UEFA competitions in the future to accumulate experience.

President Miyamoto said, "We requested this because we believe participating in European tournaments will help strengthen our national team's capabilities. It also offers mutual benefits, such as providing European sides with a good opportunity to discover Japanese players at an early stage." He added, "This is just the beginning. We hope that by participating in various tournaments in the same way going forward, it will lead to strengthening our national team's capabilities."

While President Miyamoto of the Japan Football Association has taken direct steps to visit UEFA and enable Japan's future football talents to gain experience firsthand, South Korea faces a situation where its top leadership position remains vacant and there is no specific project for Yeon Ryeong-byeol (CEO) teams. Consequently, the gap in the future of Korean-Japanese football appears to be widening further.

President Miyamoto is even considering plans for Japan's senior national team (A-team) to participate in European tournaments as well. Regarding this, President Miyamoto stated, "It would be ideal if it materializes, but the key factor is what matches the A-national team will play in Asia during the A-match period." He added, "From the perspective of strengthening the national team's capabilities, this would be a very positive development. However, we hope that participation begins with the Yeon Ryeong-byeol (CEO) teams as a preliminary step."

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*This content was translated by AI.