Hey there, folks! Rise and shine to the beautiful morning sun!
Greetings to all football enthusiasts in Singapore and across the globe! I am Ueda Asahi, and it gives me immense pleasure to write this column for JPF.
Let me introduce myself – I am a cheerful old man who has been following football for almost four decades now. Yes, you read it right! I have been rooting for Japan National Team since 1985, and for the past 30 years, I have been cheering for them at the Stadium.
I have been watching the FIFA World Cup since the 1990 edition in Italy. Even before my country, Japan got to participate at the world level.
And I was there in Johor Bahru in 1997 to witness Japan qualifying for the
France 1998 FIFA World Cup for the very first time in history. I recalled this feeling, “I don’t care if I just die right now; our country finally qualified!”.
I felt that way because of the nightmare I had been through in Doha in 1993 – Japan conceded a goal that eventually cost us a spot in the USA 1994 FIFA World Cup with a few seconds remaining.
Japan had a fantastic FIFA World Cup in Qatar
It has been many years. Japanese football has improved. And we are considered regulars in the World Cup. But then again, this was unimaginable thirty years ago.
Many football fans, particularly Singapore fans, might not know that Japan was once at the highest when they defeated Singapore in the 1987 World Cup Qualifiers in Seoul, South Korea. That was because Singapore was also once one of the strongest teams in Asia, much stronger than Japan, with a handful of Singapore footballers playing in Europe.
Yes, Fandi Ahmad is my favourite Singaporean footballer – my idol.
Even though I didn’t have a chance to see Singapore play back then, I felt excited when I knew a Singaporean played in the Netherlands.
I remember I was just an elementary school student. Still, I went to the hotel where the Singapore team was staying, hoping to get Fandi’s autograph. Unfortunately, I never get to meet him.
Many years have passed again. During one of my trips to Singapore last year, I saw him at the Stadium; I gathered enough courage and approached him for his autograph! I wanted to accomplish a small dream that a young Asahi never gets to fulfil!
Meeting Fandi Ahmad in Singapore
Pardon me, I got carried away with my Fandi’s story. Well, we will not know what the future of football will be like, but Japanese football will continue to get better moving forward!
Meanwhile, I have been travelling all over the world to follow football. And the most exciting region for football has to be Southeast Asia now.
To put it bluntly, Southeast Asian football is still generally low compared to Europe or South America. But the passion for football shown by the football fans here in Southeast Asia certainly matches the best in Europe and South America.
So, the number of participating countries in the next World Cup has increased from 32 teams to 48 teams. It will be easier for Japan in a way, but what about Southeast Asian countries?
Until now, the Southeast Asian teams have never qualified for the World Cup. It has always been the qualification games. The actual World Cup final will be a tournament the team will watch in Southeast Asia. But then again, don’t give up. It was the same for us, the Japanese, 30 years ago.
So, the opportunities for World Cup qualification have expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams. Now, it will be a ‘Dream’ turned into a ‘Goal’ – World Cup qualification should be Southeast Asia countries’ target.
Singapore taking on Vietnam in AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022
Japan missed the 1994 World Cup in the United States with just seconds remaining. And for the 1998 World Cup in France, Japan won the playoffs with a golden goal. It was because of these two ‘hells’ (Doha-1993, where the Japanese cried) and ‘heaven’ (Johor Bahru-1997, where we got our revenge and cried tears of joy) that Japanese football improved drastically.
The first edition of Shedding Tears of Joy is coming to Southeast Asia soon. Southeast Asian countries will experience their own ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ as Southeast Asia will play one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, World Cup Qualifiers in the World Cup.
I have a massive passion for Southeast Asian football. I have travelled to 6 countries to watch last year’s AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup. And you know the reason why? That is because I see the new era of Southeast Asian football coming, and I want to witness the moment when the history of Southeast Asian soccer changes!
So, although I am Japanese and support the Japanese National Team, I would like to look at Asian football as a whole. Similar to JPF, we pay more attention to Southeast Asian football. I believe that the development of Asian football will also lead to the development of Japanese football.
This time, I will be in Qatar for the AFC Asian Cup. Do stay tuned to my write-up and sharings here at JPF. I hope to share more of my trips from a unique perspective.
UEDA ASAHI is one of Japan’s most recognizable and well-known football personalities, film director and entrepreneur. Asahi is always known to be the Man to revolutionize the football ultra culture in Japan. He was also specially invited to the annual Best FIFA Awards 2022. https://www.instagram.com/asahiman
