After being eliminated from the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, Japan international Kamada gave an interview about the future of Japanese football.
"If we truly want to stand on the FIFA World Cup podium in the future, we Japanese players must continuously demonstrate the value of Japanese football to the world. Unless football becomes Japan's national sport, it will be difficult for us to win the FIFA World Cup."
"Japan's characteristic is that various sports are popular, and whenever a certain event achieves good results, public attention shifts to that sport. In addition, various forms of popular culture such as variety shows, films, television actors, and idols also divert a lot of attention."
"In countries like Brazil and Argentina, where winning championships is the goal, football is undeniably the number one sport. Looking at the grassroots level of youth development, all athletically gifted children dedicate themselves to football and compete with one another in the sport. However, Japan's sports talents are scattered across various disciplines, and at the grassroots level alone, we face an inherent disadvantage."
"Brazil has a long-standing fervent football culture, and the stadium atmosphere is completely different from elsewhere. Just the Brazil team entering for warm-ups makes the entire stadium erupt. From the perspective of football's historical heritage, we indeed have a fundamental gap with them."
"I believe that as long as we, the current players, achieve good results on the world stage and elevate the value of Japanese football, the current situation can gradually improve. If we had achieved better results this time, the entire environment would see greater changes in the future. I genuinely desire to prove this on the field and firmly believed I could do it."
"Many players on the team shed tears when they hear the national anthem, their hearts trembling. We are genuinely proud to represent Japan. But compared to other football powerhouses, how much national pride can Japanese citizens derive from football? This is a question I have always pondered. I regret that we haven't been able to give our own fans the same intense sense of honor."
"We must use our performance on the field to make all Japanese fans feel this pride. Japan is an island nation, far from other countries. Every time I participate in an international competition, I can intuitively feel the sense of belonging other countries' fans have for their national football team. Brazil is truly unmatched in this regard. We also want to reach that level, and we can only achieve it through diligent effort day in and day out."
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