Reconstruction Minister's Cup “e-Fukko Soccer Championship 2022" Main Tournament(Nov. 3 Reiwa 04（2022）) Result (at J-village, Fukushima)

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Reconstruction Minister's Cup “e-Fukko Soccer Championship 2022" Result

PECORANIONS (1st place team in online qualifying round)

won the championship!！

Nov 14, Reiwa 04（2022）（Mon)

On Thursday, November 3 (national holiday), the Reconstruction Agency held the Reconstruction Minister's Cup “e-Fukko Soccer Championship 2022" at J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture.

As a result of the main tournament (hereinafter referred to as the “Championship” ), "PECORANIONS", the first place winner of the online qualifying round, won the championship after a penalty shootout.

Prior to the main tournament, a qualifying round for local/affected area and a real soccer event were held in the morning of the same day. Two teams, "Hot Strippers" and "Team Ax," consisting mainly of local players from Fukushima Prefecture participated in the qualifying round for the local/affected area. In addition, J-Village SC, the football club from the site of the main tournament, and two strong women's soccer teams, the Tokiwagi Gakuen High School Soccer Club and the Seiwa Gakuen High School Women's Soccer Club, participated in the tournament. These five teams competed for the two slots available in the main tournament.

The venue was filled with cheers and loud shouts of encouragement from parents and teammates.

Two teams, the "Hot Strippers" and "Team Ax," grabbed their tickets to the main tournament.
The six teams competing in the main tournament were "Pee Paw and his Funny Friends" (1st place offline qualifier), "FC ACUVUE" (2nd place offline qualifier), "PECORANIONS" (1st place online qualifier), "Hot Strippers" (1st place of local/affected area qualifier), "Team Ax" (2nd place of local/affected area qualifier)

大会説明図

and " Japan eNational Football Team Friends" (team nominated by the organizer).
The six teams were divided into two groups of three teams each, and league matches were held in each group, with the winning team determined by a final match between the first-place team from each group.
His Excellency AKIBA Kenya, Minister of Reconstruction, appeared on stage and announced the opening of the championship.

In the second match of Group A, "Japan eNational Football Team Friends" played against "Team Ax". Former member of Japanese national football team member Mr. ISHIKAWA Naohiro scored a spectacular goal, which was greeted with a big round of applause.
In the final match, however, they lost to "Pee Paw and his Funny Friends" and were eliminated from the group league with 1 draw and 1 loss.

The two teams that advanced through their respective group leagues to the finals were "Pee Paw and his Funny Friends" and "PECORANIONS".

In the final match, "PECORANIONS" first scored a goal with a beautiful counter in the first half. In the second half, "Pee Paw and his Funny Friends" made a quick attack, which is their specialty, and got a goal back. After that, both teams fought hard, but could not break the goal.
The game went into overtime.
In the penalty shootout, "PECORANIONS" made a good save and won the championship with a score of 4-3.
Former member of Japanese national football team Mr. MATSUKI Yasutaro provided commentary for the final group league match and the final game.
His passionate commentary, just like his commentary on TV as he did for the real national team's matches, kept the audience excited.
Local football clubs, prestigious high school football teams, and teams that are usually active mainly online, as well as the team from members of former Japan's national football team and the Japan eNational Football Team gathered in J-Village, a sacred place for Japanese National Football Team and a symbol of recovering from the earthquake and tsunami disaster.
This event turned out to be a very exciting festival that brought everyone together under one roof, and the venue was filled with even more enthusiasm than the offline qualifier held in Tokyo, bringing the tournament to a successful conclusion.

※ The team nominated by the organizer consists of MATSUKI Yasutaro (Mr.) (former member of Japan National Football Team / football commentator), TSUBOI Keisuke(Mr.)( former member of Japan National Football Team), ISHIKAWA Naohiro(Mr.)( former member of Japan National Football Team), KUROMAME (Mr.)(member of Japan eNational Football Team), youxme(Mr.) (member of Japan eNational Football Team), Agu(Mr.) (member of Japan eNational Football Team), Web Nasri(Mr.) (member of Japan eNational Football Team) and HAZOME Takahide(Mr.) (e-sports commentator) (changed during the tournament).

■ Match Result ( Final )
Winner (Champion)　PECORANIONS

Final match: Pee Paw and his Funny Friends (1-1, PK 3-4) PECORANIONS

Interview with Kevin, captain of PECORANIONS (Winner)

"It was a tough game, with the opponent's defense holding really firm and the game progressing at the pace of the opponent. I am glad we won the game. It was reassuring to know that we had a goalkeeper we could trust in the crucial moments. Thank you to everyone who supported us, and we look forward to continuing our activities so that the 11vs11 Pro Clubs mode can continue to thrive."

Group League Result

グループA試合結果

Group A

Team Ax (0-8) Pee Paw and his Funny Friends

Team Ax (1-1) Japan eNational Football Team Friends

Pee Paw and his Funny Friends (3-0) Japan eNational Football Team Friends

グループB試合結果

Group B

Hot Strippers (0-5) FC ACUVUE

Hot Strippers (0-13) PECORANIONS

FC ACUVUE (0-4) PECORANIONS

This event was a Fukko (recovery from the 2011 disaster) event hosted by the Reconstruction Agency, the Government of Japan. In this event, we provide visitors and the streaming audience with an opportunity to learn about the current recovery status of the disaster-affected areas and the attractions of the affected areas.

During the matches, Mr. IZAWA Takushi, CEO of QuizKnock, gave quizzes from various angles related to the disaster-affected areas as a "Challenge from QuizKnock," and the venue was very excited.

In addition, videos related to the recovery in the disaster-affected areas was shown by a large LED display at the venue, as well as panel exhibition of Fukko (recovery) .

In addition, one of the concepts of the championship is "a worldview where “e” and “real” life merge. Therefore, not only an e-sports tournament was held by "FIFA23," but also a real soccer event.

In the morning, former members of Japan national football team, Mr. TSUBOI Keisuke and Mr. ISHIKAWA Naohiro hosted a real football event on J Village's natural grass pitch under the crisp autumn weather.

Under the guidance of Mr. TSUBOI and Mr. ISHIKAWA, members of the Tokiwagi Gakuen High School Soccer Club and the Seiwa Gakuen High School Women's Soccer Club, both of which are strong high school women's soccer teams, practiced hard with a serious mind while enjoying themselves.

The participants in the main tournament also enjoyed playing real football mini-games with the former national team players.

In addition, a lunchtime meal featuring a variety of Fukushima ingredients was served, and the Hula Tahitian Dance Club of Asaka Kaisei High School from Fukushima Prefecture gave a dance performance of the Hinatazaka 46 songs, followed by a speech by Minister of Reconstruction, AKIBA Kenya.

Hula dancing was performed by the Hula Tahitian Dance Club of Asaka Kaisei High School at the awards ceremony after the final match.
The winning and runner-up teams were also awarded medals with original designs made from the historic "Ogatsu Stone" produced in Ogatsu-cho, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture.
After the awards ceremony, a buffet-style dinner was served with a menu of foods produced in Fukushima Prefecture.

In J-Village, performances by flutist Ms. HAYASHI Aimi and pianist Ms. HARA Reina added color to the welcome reception, championship and the awards ceremony.

Ms. HAYASHI Aimi (first left) and Ms.HARA Reina (second from left) are interviewed just before the national anthem performance before the final

【Photo Albums】

Real Soccer Event for participants in the Main Tournament
(Photos: Upper left, upper right and lower left: Real soccer class by Mr. TSUBOI Keisuke
and Mr. ISHIKAWA Naohiro, both former members of Japan national football team)
(Bottom right: Four members of the eJapan National Football team)

State Minister of Reconstruction H.E. TAKEYA presents the trophy to Kevin, Captain of champion

Buffet-style dinner with a wide variety of Fukushima Prefecture ingredients
The winning team was presented with prefectural beef thigh steaks

■ What is the “Fukko Daijin Hai “e-Fukko Soccer Senshuken”” - Reconstruction Minister’s Cup - “e-Fukko Soccer Championship”?

“e-Fukko Soccer Senshuken”” - Reconstruction Minister’s Cup　is an e-sports (football) tournament, organized by Reconstruction Agency, Government of Japan, held as a Reconstruction Agency information dissemination project for fiscal 2022, with the aim of promoting Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, while e-sports has exploded in popularity in recent years, especially among young people.

One of the unique feature of this tournament is that the main tournament venue is “J-Village”.

"J-Village," located in Fukushima prefecture, is very famous for the sacred field of Japanese national football team and one of the symbolic facilities of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake 2011.

Another unique feature is that this Championship is 11-player vs. 11-player style’s offline e-sports football tournament. It is the first offline tournament in Japan using the PlayStation®5 with game title "FIFA23" Pro Clubs mode, and this would be a very rare e-sports game format in the world.

Through this unique event, the organizer, Reconstruction Agency, Government of Japan, supports the development of the disaster-affected areas (especially, Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate pref.), to promote the attractiveness of the areas and the safety and security of food products produced in the areas, and to increase the demand for products produced in the areas and the number of tourists.

■ Official HP
　　https://e-fukko.info/

■ Official Twitter
　　https://twitter.com/e_fukko

■ Video archive(watch on YouTube)
　　https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLDWeLbj7s4
　　*The archive might be closed without notice.

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