Japan are gearing up to defend their American Football World Cup title as the United States compete for the first time with a team of young college players hungry for victory.
Despite the sport's low profile here, hosts Japan are aiming for a third straight victory at the tournament, which will also feature France, Germany, South Korea and Sweden.
The event kicks off Saturday in Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo, with a match between France and Japan. The final will be held on July 15.
"The stage is set for two-time champions Japan to take on the first-time entrants United States," Japan head coach Toshiaki Abe said.
"Our first game, against France, will be important. We must win and advance to the final with no injuries," he said.
"We want to face the United States (in the final) with real determination and we want to win," he added.
The event, which was first held in Italy in 1999 and again in 2003 in Germany, aims to attract more fans to the sport outside of the United States.
In Japan, American football is played mainly by a limited number of students and adults in corporate-sponsored teams.
The public at large remains generally unfamiliar with the sport, and equipment is not widely available.
Only three games of this year's World Cup will be shown to Japanese television viewers and even those will only be available through via satellite and cable channels -- not through terrestrial broadcasters.
The sport has also failed to shine in Europe, where NFL Europa -- the European development league for American football -- folded last month after 15 seasons because of heavy financial losses.
Fans and officials in Japan say the sport is gradually receiving wider recognition here but it is a slow process as many people have not even watched the sport, let alone played it.
Japanese fans are celebrating news that wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita, who played in Europe, was invited to camp with the Atlanta Falcons this summer, raising the prospect he may become the first Japanese to become an NFL player.
But he will not appear at the World Cup. Nor will any US professionals, as the United States has made its 45-member squad up with college players.
US head coach John Mackovic said the American team has focused its efforts on strengthening its co-ordination as the players have been pulled together in a short time from various schools and had trained under different coaches.
"We have very good quality coaches so we hope that our coaches' skills of teaching can be brought to our players," he said in an interview with the World Cup organizer.
"Anyone we play, we have tremendous respect for them," Mackovic said of the five other participating nations, adding that "the level of competition is strong."
In the 1999 Italian World Cup Japan claimed first place, followed by Mexico, Sweden, Italia, Australia and Finland.
The Germany event, in which only four countries participated, was also won by Japan, followed by Mexico, Germany and France.
Source: http://sports.indiatimes.com/US_out_to_stop_champs_Japan/articleshow/2180639.cms
Despite the sport's low profile here, hosts Japan are aiming for a third straight victory at the tournament, which will also feature France, Germany, South Korea and Sweden.
The event kicks off Saturday in Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo, with a match between France and Japan. The final will be held on July 15.
"The stage is set for two-time champions Japan to take on the first-time entrants United States," Japan head coach Toshiaki Abe said.
"Our first game, against France, will be important. We must win and advance to the final with no injuries," he said.
"We want to face the United States (in the final) with real determination and we want to win," he added.
The event, which was first held in Italy in 1999 and again in 2003 in Germany, aims to attract more fans to the sport outside of the United States.
In Japan, American football is played mainly by a limited number of students and adults in corporate-sponsored teams.
The public at large remains generally unfamiliar with the sport, and equipment is not widely available.
Only three games of this year's World Cup will be shown to Japanese television viewers and even those will only be available through via satellite and cable channels -- not through terrestrial broadcasters.
The sport has also failed to shine in Europe, where NFL Europa -- the European development league for American football -- folded last month after 15 seasons because of heavy financial losses.
Fans and officials in Japan say the sport is gradually receiving wider recognition here but it is a slow process as many people have not even watched the sport, let alone played it.
Japanese fans are celebrating news that wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita, who played in Europe, was invited to camp with the Atlanta Falcons this summer, raising the prospect he may become the first Japanese to become an NFL player.
But he will not appear at the World Cup. Nor will any US professionals, as the United States has made its 45-member squad up with college players.
US head coach John Mackovic said the American team has focused its efforts on strengthening its co-ordination as the players have been pulled together in a short time from various schools and had trained under different coaches.
"We have very good quality coaches so we hope that our coaches' skills of teaching can be brought to our players," he said in an interview with the World Cup organizer.
"Anyone we play, we have tremendous respect for them," Mackovic said of the five other participating nations, adding that "the level of competition is strong."
In the 1999 Italian World Cup Japan claimed first place, followed by Mexico, Sweden, Italia, Australia and Finland.
The Germany event, in which only four countries participated, was also won by Japan, followed by Mexico, Germany and France.
Source: http://sports.indiatimes.com/US_out_to_stop_champs_Japan/articleshow/2180639.cms